Software has shaped almost every aspect of our modern lives. Ensuring that software is correct, is both a major scientific challenge and an enterprise with enormous social relevance. Would you like to examine possibilities to introduce a theory for correctness levels for software? Then you have a part to play as a PhD Candidate.

The correctness of software is of major importance in computer science. Unfortunately, the significance of software correctness is not always clear. Furthermore, the automatic checking of software correctness is difficult. This leads to problems during system development projects and during the grading of software exercises. 

This PhD candidate position is intended for four years. You understand the importance of correct software and know how to work with several meanings of software correctness. Your goal is to introduce a generic and formal theory of software correctness levels, in which partially correct/incorrect software can be handled in a flexible way.

You will put the generic theory into practice, by experimenting with automatic grading of software exercises in the context of our courses. One application will be dealing with automatic grading of SQL statements. You will be supervised by Dr Patrick van Bommel and Prof. Djoerd Hiemstra.

• You are an enthusiastic and motivated researcher.
• You should have a Master’s degree in computer science, or a Master’s degree in mathematics and a demonstrable interest in computer science.

Fixed-term contract: you will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract) or 3.5 years (5 year contract).

• Employment for 0.8 (5 year contract) - 1.0 (4 year contract) FTE.
• The gross starting salary amounts to €2,443 per month based on a 38-hour working week, and will increase to €3,122 from the fourth year onwards (salary scale P).
• You will receive 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• You will be appointed for an initial period of 18 months, after which your performance will be evaluated. If the evaluation is positive, the contract will be extended by 2.5 years (4 year contract) or 3.5 years (5 year contract).
• You will be able to use our Dual Career and Family Care Services. Our Dual Career and Family Care Officer can assist you with family-related support, help your partner or spouse prepare for the local labour market, provide customized support in their search for employment  and help your family settle in Nijmegen.
• Working for us means getting extra days off. In case of full-time employment, you can choose between 29 or 41 days of annual leave instead of the legally allotted 20.

Additional employment conditions Work and science require good employment practices. This is reflected in Radboud University's primary and secondary employment conditions. You can make arrangements for the best possible work-life balance with flexible working hours, various leave arrangements and working from home. You are also able to compose part of your employment conditions yourself, for example, exchange income for extra leave days and receive a reimbursement for your sports subscription. And of course, we offer a good pension plan. You are given plenty of room and responsibility to develop your talents and realise your ambitions. Therefore, we provide various training and development schemes.

The position is available in the Software Science group of the Institute for Computing and Information Sciences (iCIS) at Radboud University. Our mission is to do top research on the use of models for design and analysis of software, bridging the gap between theory and applications. We offer joining a fun and diverse group that maintains a range of international cooperations. In 2021, we published our research in top conferences such as CAV, TACAS, (formal methods) AAAI (artificial intelligence) and RSS (robotics). Furthermore, our group actively contributes to the development of the state-of-the-art probabilistic model checker Storm.