(ref. ZAP-2022-6)
Employment percentage: Full-time
Location: Diepenbeek Declarative Languages and Artificial Intelligence (DTAI), Diepenbeek Campus
Apply up to and including: Tuesday, January 17, 2023
In the Science, Engineering and Technology Group of KU Leuven, Faculty of Engineering Technology, Department of Computer Science there is a full-time academic position (tenured or tenure track) in the area of computer science on campus Diepenbeek. We are looking for internationally oriented candidates with an excellent track record in research and with educational competence within the field of software engineering and distributed systems. As you will be part of the ACRO research group at campus Diepenbeek, your research is strongly focussed on design, development, deployment and maintenance of resilient distributed software systems. The Faculty of Engineering Technology has an extensive national and international network, both in the academic world and in industry. The new faculty member will become a member of the DistriNet research unit at the Department of Computer Science, an internationally leading research group with recognized expertise in the areas of security, distributed systems and software engineering. At campus Diepenbeek, the local research group ACRO (Automation, Computer Vision and Robotics) offers a solid research infrastructure, an extensive international network, connections with companies and non-profit organisations, a stable offer of talented PhD students, and a supportive work environment. The ACRO Research group focusses on challenges in robotics and mechatronic design, this vacancy fills the gap of software engineering expertise. ACRO focusses on the translation of fundamental research into prototypes with high technology readiness levels in a wide application domain ranging from manufacturing, assembly, logistics, agriculture, healthcare, construction up to nuclear environments.
Website unit
Duties
Research
You will develop a research program of international level in software engineering for resilient systems. The context of distributed systems in IoT and Cloud-based platforms offers various opportunities, which will give you the space to develop your own profile based on your own experience and interests. This includes
- The development of end-2-end application architectures that combine cloud-based storage and services with smart, software-intensive sensors and actuators that cooperate with intelligent gateways. Such architectures are designed to achieve performance and throughput, while increasing robustness and resilience by integrating software components, API’s and services in the various tiers of such a distributed system.
- The study, development and application of methods, approaches and patterns for resilience, supporting resilience-by-design, by addressing for instance business continuity of an organisation, maximizing uptime of digital services, minimizing delays caused by recovery, including preventive solutions to enhance robustness, security etc.
- The development of application software in line with regional industry needs, e.g. in entertainment, production industry, autonomous vehicles such as drones, digital twins, etc.
- The application of software technology in developing and maintaining modern digital services in a cost-effective way, addressing challenges such as dynamic reconfiguration and adaptation while guaranteeing availability, security and performance.
The focus of the applicant should be on the development of resilient cyber-physical (software) systems, with industrial valorisation in mind, and in alignment with and/or applicable to the robotics approach of the ACRO group. Within ACRO and DistriNet many theoretical concepts are studied and developed with great potential towards concrete applications. However, often additional research is needed to integrate and implement these concepts into commercially usable robots within the field of software engineering. You can respond to this, but the selected candidate is also expected to bring in own expertise and build a network of companies in symbiosis with the other members of ACRO and DistriNet. You will build this network of companies for the valorisation of research results and to carry out industrial services, with the aim of strengthening industrial innovation.
- You engage in targeted scientific research, resulting in PhD’s and publications that meet international standards and lead to broad international recognition.
- As part of your research programme, you develop international partnerships, within the academic world as well as with industrial partners.
- You acquire competitive funding, both project-based government funding as well as industrial funding.
- You pay attention to the technology transfer and application of the results of your research in industry/government/society.
Education
- You will provide high-quality education to both undergraduate and graduate students within the do-main of specialized courses around Software Engineering in both the current and future state of software development, with a special interest in cybersecurity and resilience and within more general areas of computer science: object-oriented programming, software engineering and cloud computing. This with a clear commitment to the quality of the educational programme. All professors are expected to teach a few basic undergraduate courses.
- You contribute to the faculty’s and the university’s pedagogical project through the supervision of student projects (for example bachelor’s and master’s theses) and by acting as a supervisor of PhD students.
- You develop your teaching in accordance with KU Leuven’s views on activating and researched-based education and make use of the possibilities for educational professionalization offered by the faculty and the university.
- Your teaching duties are determined in agreement and are based on your specific profile. The scope is limited in the first years of your appointment. In your further career, the faculty will also pay a great deal of attention to the balance between research and teaching time.
Service
- You are prepared to provide services to the scientific community, to society and to the university in function of the needs and your personal interests.
- You will carry out applied research projects in collaboration with industry and government and create a network of industrial partners.
- You will involve actively in promoting the Faculty of Engineering Technology to future students and participate in the information and promotional activities of the faculty.
Profile
- You have a PhD in Computer Science or an equivalent degree, and you have research experience in a field related to software engineering.
- You have a strong research track record in the discipline, evidenced by your publications or by your research experience in industry. You have the ambition to contribute to the valorisation of research in industry and in society. International experience is an important advantage.
- You have verifiable qualities related to academic education. Teaching experience is an advantage.
- You possess organisational skills and have a cooperative attitude. You also possess leadership competencies in a university or industry context.
- Proficiency in English is required. KU Leuven provides courses in academic English.
The official language used at KU Leuven is Dutch. If you do not speak Dutch (or do not speak it well) at the start of employment, KU Leuven will provide language training to enable you to take part in meetings.
Before teaching courses in Dutch or English, you will be given the opportunity to learn Dutch, respectively English, to the required standard.
Offer
We offer a full-time employment in an intellectually challenging environment.
KU Leuven is a research-intensive, internationally oriented university that carries out both fundamental and applied scientific research. Our university is highly focused on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research and strives for international excellence. In this regard, the university actively works together with research partners in Belgium and abroad and provides its students with an academic education that is based on high-quality scientific research.
You will work at the KU Leuven Campus in Diepenbeek, near Hasselt, a green, dynamic and lively city located in the East of Belgium, about one hour from Eindhoven, Aachen and Brussels, the capital of the European Union, and about three hours from Paris, London and Amsterdam.
Depending on your record and qualifications, you will be appointed to or tenured in one of the grades of the senior academic staff: assistant professor, associate professor, professor or full professor. In principle, junior researchers are appointed as assistant professor on the tenure track for a period of 5 years. At the end of this period and a positive evaluation, they are permanently appointed (or tenured) as associate professor.
KU Leuven is well set to welcome foreign professors and their family and provides practical support with regard to immigration & administration, housing, childcare, learning Dutch, partner career coaching.
To facilitate scientific onboarding and accelerate research in the first phase a starting grant of 100.000 euro is offered to new professors without substantial other funding, appointed for at least 50%.
Interested?
For more information on the description of this vacancy, please contact:
If you have problems submitting your application online, please send an email to
solliciteren@kuleuven.be.
Add to your application following documents in English (more information is available on the KU Leuven job site):
- your biosketch in which you indicate your added value as an academic for research, education and service to society of your past career and of your future activities (maximum 2 pages);
- a file on your five most important publications or realizations;
- an extensive cv including a full publication list and if applicable a portfolio of your realized projects;
- your research plan with focus on the development of your research line and research team in relation with the colleague-researchers of the entity of employment (maximum 4 pages);
- your vision on academic education and its organization (maximum 2 pages);
- your contribution to society by outreach and public communication on science and technology, internal representation in boards and councils and service activities directly in relation to your developed expertise (maximum 1 page);
- your vision on leadership (maximum 1 page).
KU Leuven places great importance on research integrity and ethical conduct and will therefore ask you to sign an integrity statement upon appointment.
KU Leuven is committed to creating a diverse environment and is therefore an equal opportunity employer. It explicitly encourages candidates from groups that are currently underrepresented at the university to submit their applications.
You can apply for this job no later than January 17, 2023 via the
online application tool
KU Leuven seeks to foster an environment where all talents can flourish, regardless of gender, age, cultural background, nationality or impairments. If you have any questions relating to accessibility or support, please contact us at
diversiteit.HR@kuleuven.be.