Agents, Interactions & Complexity

Location:  Highfield Campus
Salary:   £34,304 to £38,587 per annum
Full Time Fixed Term (20 months)
Closing Date:  Wednesday 17 August 2022
Interview Date:   To be confirmed
Reference:  1897622FP

You will join the research project COVER: COalgebraic Foundations for Quantitative VERification. The post will be in the Agents, Interaction and Complexity (AIC) research group, in the School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) at the University of Southampton. The AIC group leads a number of nationally important research centres including the Trustworthy Autonomous System Research Hub (tas.ac.uk) and the UKRI MINDS Centre for Doctoral Training (mindscdt.ai).

The project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, is a collaboration between the Universities of Southampton and Strathclyde. It aims to transform the area of automated verification by extending its scope in a principled way to match the complexity of modern applications and their varied, often quantitative verification needs. We will achieve this by developing new foundations grounded in the theory of coalgebras, along with algorithms and prototype tools to showcase them. This will enhance the applicability of automated verification through the use of more general models and specification logics. It will also improve the scalability of automated verification by placing compositionality and abstraction at the heart of verification. The research team includes Dr Corina Cirstea from the AIC group at the University of Southampton, Dr Clemens Kupke from the Mathematically Structured Programming group at the University of Strathclyde, and two Research Fellows, one at Southampton and one at Strathclyde.

You will contribute to the development of new theories for quantitative verification, and will take a leading role in the development of algorithms that support quantitative model checking and synthesis. You will also work alongside the Strathclyde Research Fellow on the development of prototype tools.

To be successful you will have a PhD (or equivalent)/ equivalent professional qualifications and experience in computer science or mathematics, and a proven track record in logic, formal verification or category theory. Prior exposure to category theory and/or coalgebraic methods is desirable, as is experience with algorithm development. You must also be able to work effectively in a team and organise time, tasks and responsibilities with other team members.

The appointment is full time, fixed term (20 months). The starting date is 1 October 2022 or as soon as possible thereafter.

Ranked in the top 1% of universities globally and among the UK's top 20 for research, the University of Southampton has an international reputation for its research, teaching and enterprise activities. The School of Electronics and Computer Science provides a unique, friendly and supportive environment that facilitates use-inspired and multi-disciplinary research, education, training and outreach.

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion are central to the ethos of the School of Electronics and Computer Science. We are committed to improving equality for women in science and engineering and have been successful in achieving an Athena SWAN bronze award in April 2020. We will give due consideration to applicants who wish to work flexibly and to those who have taken a career break. The University has onsite childcare facilities. We have a range of staff development programmes and a unique mentoring and wellbeing scheme. 

For informal inquiries, please contact Dr Corina Cirstea (cc2@ecs.soton.ac.uk).

*Applications for Research Fellow positions will be considered from candidates who are working towards or nearing completion of a relevant PhD qualification.  The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon successful completion of the PhD.  Prior to the qualification being awarded, the title of Senior Research Assistant will be given.

Please include a full CV and a supporting statement in your application. The supporting statement must explain how you meet the selection criteria for the post using examples of your skills and experience.

You should submit your completed online application form at https://jobs.soton.ac.uk. The application deadline will be midnight on the closing date stated above. References are requested along with your application. This reference system is automated so please ensure you provide the correct email address and allow time for these to be received, prior to the close date, to assist the department with shortlisting. 

If you need any assistance, please call Holly Shergold (Recruitment Team) on +44 (0) 23 8059 5719, or email recruitment@soton.ac.uk. Please quote reference 1897622FP on all correspondence.