PhD Position in Probabilistic Session Types at the IT University of Copenhagen

The IT University of Copenhagen invites applications for a PhD position in the PROBABILIST project (PROBABILIstic Session Types), funded by the Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF-FNU) starting in August or soon thereafter.

The right candidate will contribute to advancing the theory and practice of probabilistic session types, a formal framework for reasoning about correctness, reliability, and expressiveness in distributed systems with probabilistic behaviour.

Project Description
Modern distributed systems increasingly integrate probabilistic models, AI-driven components, and stochastic decision-making. Traditional methods for ensuring correctness struggle to capture such uncertainty, leading to challenges in communication-based systems. PROBABILIST aims at developing a foundational approach to probabilistic session types, supporting rigorous analysis of properties relevant to concurrent systems with probabilistic behaviour. The project aims to bridge formal methods, programming languages, and concurrency theory.

Candidate Profile
We seek a highly motivated candidate with:

• A Master’s degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science, Mathematics, or a closely related field.
• Background in formal methods, programming languages, distributed systems, or probabilistic models.
• Experience with proof assistants (e.g., Coq), type systems, or model checking is an advance.
• A collaborative mindset and enthusiasm for research.

If you are unsure whether your profile fits, feel free to reach out before applying.

Research Environment
The PhD student will join the Programming, Logic, and Semantics (PLS) research group, a dynamic research team at the IT University of Copenhagen, focussing on programming languages, distributed systems, and verification. The project provides opportunities to engage with international researchers and partners.

General information
The IT University of Copenhagen (ITU) is a teaching and research-based tertiary institution concerned with information technology (IT) and the opportunities it offers. The IT University has more than 160 full-time Faculty members. Research and teaching in information technology span all academic activities which involve computers including computer science, information and media sciences, humanities and social sciences, business impact and the commercialization of IT.

Working at the IT University
Located in modern architecture, a 6-minute metro ride from the center of Copenhagen, the IT University offers an informal working environment, a varied everyday life, and a highly motivated, competent, and diverse international faculty, with PhD degrees from 17 different countries. The IT University is an equal opportunity employer and prides itself in actively and pursuing an improved gender balance among students and among faculty.

Working in Copenhagen
Copenhagen has a solid educational system, a rich cultural life, universal healthcare, good childcare, and well-functioning infrastructure. Copenhagen is among the world’s most livable cities according to the Economist Global Liveability Index. Living and working in Copenhagen will be a good experience for you and your family.

Salary and terms of employment
Appointment and salary will be in accordance with the Ministry of Taxation’s agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations (AC) and job structure for academic staff at Universities.

Qualification Requirements
The following qualifications are required:

• 3 year programme: candidates should have a MSc (or equivalent)
• 4 year programme: candidates should have a BSc and one year of university studies on Master level

The applicants will be employed and enrolled at the ITU University for a period of 3 or 4 years depending on the university degree level of the applicant.

Application
The application and all other documents ought to be in English and must include:

• A motivated application (cover letter), including a detailed description of your qualifications
• A statement of purpose, which provides evidence of independent thinking, novelty and originality, of the targeted research field matching the project description
• A full CV, including name, address, phone number, e-mail, previous and present employment and academic background
• Documentation of academic degrees (copy of degree certificates etc.)
• Relevant scientific publication or/and master thesis written by the applicant
• Documentation of English proficiency

Applications without the above-mentioned required documents will not be assessed.

The applicant will be accessed according to the Appointment Order from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of 13 March 2012.

The IT University may use shortlisting in connection to the recruitment process. In case of shortlisting, the Chair of the hiring committee selects applicants for assessment in consultation with the hiring committee after the application deadline. All applicants are notified whether their application has been passed for assessment. The shortlisting of candidates for assessment is based on the criteria in the job posting.

Further information
Questions about the positions can be directed to Full Professor, Marco Carbone, IT University of Copenhagen, maca@itu.dk. Early contact with our faculty staff is encouraged.
Questions related to the application procedure may be directed to HR, hr@itu.dk.

Application procedure
You can only apply for this position through our e-recruitment system. Apply by pressing the button "Apply for position" in the job announcement on our website: http://en.itu.dk/About-ITU/Vacancies

Please read the guidelines for applicants carefully before filling in the application form. You can see the guidelines through this link: https://en.itu.dk/Research/PhD-Programme/PhD-Admission-Requirements

The IT University might upon request in in the interview process contact 1-2 references.

Please note that all application material will be destroyed after the assessment.

Application deadline: 2 May 2025, at 23:59 CEST.
Applications/enclosures received at ITU after the application deadline will not be taken into consideration. If you submit an application, it is your responsibility to ensure that it arrives before the deadline so please allow sufficient time for upload of publications and other documents.

At The IT University of Copenhagen we have an international environment and view diversity as a valuable resource. We want to ensure an inclusive working environment for all our employees and encourage all qualified applicants, regardless of age, gender, religious affiliation, or ethnic background to apply for the position.

Department: Rued Langgaards Vej 7 2300 København S

Lokation: Data Science

Application deadline: 02 May 2025