About this role
The Department of Computer science, Electrical engineering and Mathematical sciences at Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL) has an open position as a post-doctoral researcher within trustworthy GenAI-assisted software engineering. The position is for a period of up to 3 years and associated with the strategically funded TERSE project. Workplace is campus Bergen. Project and duties of the position The TERSE project aims to develop actionable methods, guidelines and software tools for enhancing software engineering with the application of GenAI; and to explore how profession-oriented education and curricula in software engineering should be transformed in light the emerging GenAI era. A central element of the project is collaboration with industry, public sector institutions and international partners aimed to investigate the real-world effects of GenAI in software engineering. Software technology and engineering are key enablers in the ongoing digital transformation of society. GenAI has emerged as a disruptive technology not only within a multitude of sectors profoundly impacting the way we will work in the future, but also within the profession of software engineering itself where code is increasingly being automatically produced by GenAI-based coding co-pilots and agents. Considering the pivotal and increasingly critical role of software in society, the prospect of such a disruptive change raises fundamental questions on the feasibility and risks associated with the application of GenAI, and on how the future profession of software engineers will change. The postdoctoral researcher will work closely with the four work package leaders of the TERSE project on coordinated industry collaboration enabling longitudinal and empirical studies of GenAI, and on developing and evaluating methods and software technology to detect, prevent, and mitigate faults in GenAI-generated software. Key research questions to be addressed include: what measurable productivity and software quality effects occur when applying GenAI in software engineering processes; how to develop and apply software engineering tools which make AI-assisted development dependable; what are best practices and methodology for trustworthy application of GenAI-based software tools and technology; and how to integrate GenAI in software engineering education. Research environment The postdoctoral researcher will be a key researcher in the TERSE project and part of the software engineering research group at HVL https://www.hvl.no/en/research/group/software-engineering/ . The research group currently include 10 professors and associate professors, 12 postdoctoral researchers and PhD candidates, and a large number of master students in software engineering and in applied computer science. The software engineering research group is conducting high-quality research presented at international venues, and has broad scientific expertise including empirical software engineering, model- based software engineering, and formal methods for software engineering. The research group has a strong track record of externally funded projects with national and international industry and with academic partners. This includes projects within cloud computing and services, internet-of-things, business process modelling, AI, machine learning, collaborative systems, and security spanning domains such as healthcare services, marine environments, robotics, industrial automation and emergency work. The postdoctoral research fellow will be provided with work expense funding that can be used forconference participation, travel and research visits, and equipment. The place of employment is Campus Bergen. Qualifications The successful applicant must have earned a PhD degree in informatics/computer science/software engineering or have submitted the PhD thesis before the application deadline. The PhD must have been awarded before the candidate can be offered the position. The scientific profile of qualified candidates must be within software engineering, and preferably include the application of generative AI and machine learning in software engineering or software engineering for AI. In addition to the required educational background and scientific profile, the following criteria will be assessed in the ranking of qualified candidates: Quality and relevance of the PhD thesis Publication and project acquisition track record, quality and relevance of publications Practical software engineering skills, including experience with generative AI in software development or the engineering of software for AI solutions Research network, industrial work experience and/or experience from industrial collaboration Ability to work in the intersection of theoretical, applied, and empirical research Teaching experience and interest in curriculum development in software engineering education Ability to collaborate, engage in writing funding applications, lead the writing of research papers, ability to initiate and advance research work, and research and scientific leadership potential Dissemination capacity, oral and written communication skills in English (or in Norwegian) The application must include the following: Cover letter, including a statement of motivation, description of relevance of research profile in relation to the position and summary of scientific work and industry experience A CV, including publication list, Up to five selected publications Copies of educational certificates, transcript of academic records Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number) Applicants will in addition be assessed in relation to their prospective starting date. Short-listed candidates might be required to give a research presentation, in addition to an interview. If the documents submitted are not in English or in a Scandinavian language, the applicants must submit the corresponding certified translat