Postdoctoral Fellow in Cryptography Focusing on Post-Quantum Authentication Protocols

About the position 

We have a vacancy for a postdoctoral fellowship at the Department of Mathematical Sciences at NTNU in Trondheim, Norway. The postdoctoral fellowship position is a temporary position where the main goal is to qualify for work in senior academic positions.  

The position is funded by the Norwegian Research Council in the project: “OffPAD – Optimizing balance between high security and usability. An innovative approach to endpoint security ”.

The NIST Post Quantum Cryptography Standardization  is expected to end in 2024, and post-quantum cryptography will be required to secure all sensitive information in the years to come shortly after, e.g., in protocols such as TLS, SSH, FIDO and other systems. Additionally, NIST have announced a new call for quantum secure digital signature algorithms.

The goal of this project is to conduct research on post-quantum authentication protocols and improve upon the frameworks used today when it comes to long-term security.

The postdoc will be part of the NTNU Applied Cryptology Lab , a multidisciplinary research group consisting of members from the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Department of Information Security and Communication Technology.

A list of possible, but not limited, research topics for the postdoctoral position are:

• Post-quantum cryptography
• Key-exchange
• Digital signatures
• Zero-knowledge proofs
• Multi-party computation
• Homomorphic encryption
• Provable security

Your main supervisor will be Associate Professor Tjerand Silde at the Department of Information Security and Communication Technology.

Duties of the position

• Conduct research on quantum secure authentication protocols
• Supervise bachelor’s thesis, master’s thesis and co-supervise Ph.D. students
• Teaching courses in mathematics (if hired in a 3-year position)

Required selection criteria

• You must have completed a Norwegian doctoral degree or corresponding foreign doctoral degree recognized as equivalent to a Norwegian PhD in the field of Cryptography.
• If you can document that the PhD thesis has been submitted, your application can be assessed even if you have not yet defended your dissertation. Documentation of the obtained doctoral degree must be presented before you can take up the position.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with Regulations on terms of employment for positions such as postdoctoral fellow, Ph.D Candidate, research assistant and specialist candidate.

Preferred selection criteria

• Publications in top venue scientific conferences or journals within the field of cryptography.
• Experience researching one or more of the following topics: post-quantum cryptography, key-exchange, digital signatures, zero-knowledge proofs, multi-party computation, homomorphic encryption or provable security.
• Experience with teaching and supervision of students
• Excellent English skills, both spoken and written.

Personal characteristics

• Ability to work both independently and in a team.
• Excellent communication skills.

Emphasis will be placed on personal and interpersonal qualities.

We offer 

Salary and conditions

As a Postdoctoral Fellow (code 1352) you are normally paid from gross NOK 563 500 per annum before tax, depending on qualifications and seniority. From the salary, 2% is deducted as a contribution to the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund

The period of employment is 2 years. The department might be able to offer you a 3rd year with teaching duties.

The engagement is to be made in accordance with the regulations in force concerning State Employees and Civil Servants , and the acts relating to Control of the Export of Strategic Goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and attachment are seen to conflict with the criteria in the latter law will be prohibited from recruitment to NTNU.  

After the appointment you must assume that there may be changes in the area of work.

The position is subject to external funding.

It is a prerequisite you can be present at and accessible to the institution on a daily basis.

About the application 

The application and supporting documentation to be used as the basis for the assessment must be in English.

Publications and other scientific work must follow the application. Please note that applications are only evaluated based on the information available on the application deadline. You should ensure that your application shows clearly how your skills and experience meet the criteria which are set out above.  

If, for any reason, you have taken a career break or have had an atypical career and wish to disclose this in your application, the selection committee will take this into account, recognizing that the quantity of your research may be reduced as a result. 

We would like the candidate to start as early as possible, and potential starting dates should be indicated in the application.

The application must include: 

• CV and certificates.
• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor’s-, master’s- and PhD degrees. If you have not yet completed your Ph.D, you must provide confirmation on your estimated date for the doctoral dissertation, or that your PhD thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the doctoral thesis. If you are close to submitting, or have recently submitted your thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed doctoral degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Academic works – published or unpublished – that you would like to be considered in the assessment (up to 5 items).
• A research plan that addresses the research topics listed above. Please ensure to include motivation and the relevance of the proposed research work.
• Name and contact information of three referees.

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education. Description of the documentation required can be found here . If you already have a statement from NOKUT, please attach this as well.

Joint works will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint works, you must attach a brief description of your participation. 

In the evaluation of which candidate is best qualified, emphasis will be placed on education, experience and personal and interpersonal qualities. Motivation, ambitions, and potential will also count in the assessment of the candidates. 

NTNU is committed to following evaluation criteria for research quality according to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment – DORA. 

General information 

Working at NTNU 

NTNU believes that inclusion and diversity is a strength. We want our faculty and staff to reflect Norway’s culturally diverse population and we continuously seek to hire the best minds. This enables NTNU to increase productivity and innovation, improve decision making processes, raise employee satisfaction, compete academically with global top-ranking institutions and carry out our social responsibilities within education and research. NTNU emphasizes accessibility and encourages qualified candidates to apply regardless of gender identity, ability status, periods of unemployment or ethnic and cultural background.

NTNU is working actively to increase the number of women employed in scientific positions and has a number of resources to promote equality . 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the innovation capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.  

As an employee at NTNU, you must at all times adhere to the changes that the development in the subject entails and the organizational changes that are adopted. 

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you want to reserve yourself from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation . You will be notified if the reservation is not accepted.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Tjerand Silde, telephone +47 47301607, email tjerand.silde@ntnu.no .

If you think this looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, please submit your application electronically via jobbnorge.no with your CV, diplomas and certificates attached. Applications submitted elsewhere will not be considered. Upon request, you must be able to obtain certified copies of your documentation. 

Application deadline: 01.10.2022.

NTNU

NTNU – knowledge for a better world

The Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) creates knowledge for a better world and solutions that can change everyday life.

Department of Mathematical Sciences 

We are Norway’s largest university environment in mathematical sciences. The Department has a particular responsibility for all basis education in mathematical sciences for engineering and natural science students at NTNU. We focus on long-term basic research and applied research at a high international level.
Our aim is to meet the society’s needs for mathematical and statistical expertise in business and public administration as well as in the research and education sector.  The Department of Mathematical Sciences  is one of seven departments in the Faculty of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering  .

Deadline 1st October 2022
Employer NTNU – Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Municipality Trondheim
Scope Fulltime
Duration Project
Place of service Trondheim