Publisher
source

Leiden University

Postdoctoral Researcher in Control-Flow Equivalence for Systems and Security Leiden University in Netherlands

Degree Level

Postdoc

Field of study

Computer Science

Funding

Fully funded postdoctoral position. Initial contract is one year, extendable by two more years after positive evaluation. Salary ranges from €3,546 to €5,538 gross per month for 38 hours/week (scale 10). Additional benefits include holiday allowance, end-of-year bonus, pension, training and career development, sabbatical leave, work-from-home allowance, laptop, and conference travel funding.

Deadline

Aug 31, 2026

Country flag

Country

Netherlands

University

Leiden University

Social connections

How do I apply for this?

Sign in for free to reveal details, requirements, and source links.

Suggested positions

Keywords

Computer Science
Information Technology
Mathematics
Theoretical Computer Science
Network Security
Automata Theory
Semantics

About this position

Leiden University is advertising a fully funded postdoctoral position at the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Science (LIACS), within the Faculty of Science in Leiden, Netherlands. The project sits at the intersection of theoretical computer science, computer systems, and security, with a focus on automata theory, programming language semantics, control-flow graphs, bisimulation, compiler optimization, and code similarity / vulnerability detection.

The research aims to develop theoretical methods for representing control-flow graphs as automata and applying them to systems and security problems. Planned work includes relaxed implementations of function merging, code equivalence and similarity detection, and possible SMT-based techniques. The role combines theory development with algorithm design, implementation, benchmarking, and publication in top-tier venues.

You will be supervised by Tobias Kappé (Theory), Kristian Rietveld, and Olga Gadyatskaya (Systems & Security). The postdoctoral researcher will be part of both the Theory and Systems & Security clusters at LIACS and may also contribute to student supervision, teaching, committees, and other institute activities.

Eligibility highlights: a PhD or near-completion of a PhD; publication record in theory or systems/security; experience with non-trivial software development and optimization; LLVM and/or AST library experience preferred; interest in bridging formal methods with practical systems/security applications.

Funding and contract: the position is fully funded, initially for one year and extendable by two more years after positive evaluation. Salary is listed at €3,546–€5,538 gross per month for 38 hours/week, plus holiday allowance, end-of-year bonus, pension, training and career development, sabbatical leave, work-from-home support, laptop provision, and conference funding.

Application deadline: August 31, 2026. Applications are reviewed as they arrive, and the preferred starting date is September 1, 2026 (negotiable).

How to apply: submit the application online via the vacancy portal. Upload a motivation letter addressing your fit and research/software experience, a CV, a publication list, and contact details for at least two academic references.

Funding details

Fully funded postdoctoral position. Initial contract is one year, extendable by two more years after positive evaluation. Salary ranges from €3,546 to €5,538 gross per month for 38 hours/week (scale 10). Additional benefits include holiday allowance, end-of-year bonus, pension, training and career development, sabbatical leave, work-from-home allowance, laptop, and conference travel funding.

What's required

Applicants must have a PhD or be in the final stage of a PhD program. They should have published work in theoretical topics such as automata theory, decision procedures, programming language semantics, or verification, or in systems and security such as automated vulnerability detection or compilers. Experience developing and optimizing non-trivial software projects is expected, with LLVM and/or AST library experience preferred. Candidates should be eager to work across theory and systems/security, benchmark implementations, and aim for top-tier conference publications. Availability to start quickly is preferred.

Ask ApplyKite AI

Start chatting
Can you summarize this position?
What qualifications are required for this position?
How should I prepare my application?