About the position

The Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) has a vacancy for a Computer Science Postdoc fellowship at the Department of Computer Science (IDI). The position will research the security and privacy issues of blockchain and blockchain-based applications.

The position is jointly funded by PaaSforChain (Platform as Service Technologies for High-performance Blockchain-based Supply Chain Management Systems) project, hosted by NTNU IDI. The PaaSforChain project is a Chinese-Norwegian Collaborative Project on Digitalisation financed by the Research Council of Norway and the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China. The Norwegian partners in this project include NTNU, SINTEF Digital, DNV GL, and Hermes AS, and the Chinese partners include Tsinghua University, Nanjing University. Southeast University, and two Chinese companies, namely, Transwarp, and Zhongcheng research institute. The project objectives include studying core technological, ethical, social, and cultural issues of using blockchain and other related IT technologies to develop blockchain-based supply chain applications, especially for the seafood industry and studying core IT technologies, such as architecture, security, performance, and scalability of developing a supply chain domain-specific PaaS platform.

The position reports to the Head of department 

The Postdoc will be supervised by Associate Prof. Jingyue Li.

Duties of the positions

• Perform research on security and privacy issues of large-scale blockchain-based supply chain management systems.
• Work closely with researchers in other work packages, who will work on architecture design of blockchain-based supply chain management systems, on-chain and off-chain data storage, management, and analysis, and advanced blockchain consensus models.
• Deal with the security and privacy issues of blockchain-based applications from a holistic point of view.
• The research and development will mainly take place in NTNU IDI in Trondheim, Norway. The Postdoctor will have possibilities to do short-term visiting research at the Chinese university partners. The Postdoc will also have possibilities to participate in other relevant research activities through our collaborators worldwide.

Required selection criteria

A postdoctoral research fellowship is a qualification position in which the main objective is qualification for work in academic positions. You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree in　computer science or information security, or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree is required.

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants and national guidelines for appointment as PhD, post doctor and research assistant.

• The applicants should have a strong research background in blockchain technology, information security, data privacy, or software verification and validation.
• A Ph.D. thesis within blockchain technology, information security, data privacy, or software verification and validation is required
• Programming experience is expected
• Good English skills are required

Preferred selection criteria

• Publications in top venue scientific conferences or journals
• Experience in developing blockchain-based applications
• Experience of applying and getting research fundings

Personal characteristics

• Ability to work and think independently
• Enthusiasm and passion
• Perseverance and commitment
• Critical thinking

In the assessment of the best qualified applicant, we will emphasize education, experience and personal suitability as well as your motivation for the position. 

We offer

• exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment 
• an open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues 
• favourable terms in the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund 
• employee benefits 

Salary and conditions

The employment period is 2 years without duty work and is expected to start  start during the autumn 2020.

Postdoctoral candidates are placed in code 1352, and are normally remunerated at gross from NOK 542 400 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants, and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU. After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work. 

The position is subject to external funding by the PaaSforChain project.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application

The application and supporting documentation must be in English.  

Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline.  You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.  

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

The application must include (Departments to choose from the following): 

• Curriculum vitae (CV) with information about the candidate’s prior training, exams, and work experience
• Certified copies of transcripts and diplomas for the whole bachelor and master and Ph.D. degrees. An English translation of all education documents is required unless the documents are in Norwegian
• Research statement (max. 4 pages) including:
  • A short presentation of the motivation for the Postdoc study
  • How the applicant sees his/her background suitable
  • The applicant’s view of research challenges within security and privacy issues of blockchain-based application, in particular, what are typical security and privacy risks of the blockchain-based application and how to identify and mitigate the risks.
  • How the competence of the applicant can contribute to solving these challenges
  • A proposed research plan, which should include appropriate research methods and/or theories, could be relevant to examine the security and privacy issues of blockchain-based applications.
• Names and contact information of at least 2 reference persons
• Four scientific papers published in the last five years
• Attachments of any other relevant documents (e.g., awards)

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

General information

A good working environment is characterized by diversity. We encourage qualified candidates to apply, regardless of their gender, functional capacity or cultural background. NTNU wishes to increase the proportion of women in its academic positions, and women are therefore encouraged to apply. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to

The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment - DORA.

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

Information Act (Offentleglova), your name, age, position and municipality may be made public even if you have requested not to have your name entered on the list of applicants.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Jingyue Li, telephone +47, 91897446, email jingyue.li@ntnu.no or the Head of the Department Professor John Krogstie, e-mail: john.krogstie@ntnu.no. If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact Anne Kristin Bratseth, e-mail: anne.kristin.bratseth@ntnu.no

Please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Diploma Supplement is required to attach for European Master Diplomas outside Norway. Chinese applicants are required to provide confirmation of Diploma fromChina Credentials Verification (CHSI)

If you are invited for interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas. Mark the application with reference number: 2020/10414

Application deadline: 01.09.2020

NTNU - knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Information Security and Communication Technology

Research is vital to the security of our society. We teach and conduct research in cyber security, information security, communications networks and networked services. Our areas of expertise include biometrics, cyber defence, cryptography, digital forensics, security in e-health and welfare technology, intelligent transportation systems and malware. The Department of Information Security and Communication Technology is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering .

Deadline 1st September 2020
Employer NTNU - Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Temporary
Place of service Trondheim