Research Associate

Grade UE07- £39,347- £46,974

CSE- School of Informatics

Full-time: 35 hours per week

Fixed-term: until June 2027

The School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh invites applications for a Research Associate at the Blockchain Technology Laboratory (BTL) with the objective to conduct research on blockchain technology.

The Opportunity:

The Blockchain Technology Laboratory (BTL) aims at studying blockchain technology.

A blockchain protocol, initially showcased by the global digital currency Bitcoin, is typified by a publicly accessible and reliable ledger of transactions. Blockchain systems manage relations between stakeholders in the form of “smart contracts”. A number of applications are being explored by a growing number of start-ups and established companies, in health data processing, identity management, land ownership registries, and energy management just to name a few applications. Fully understanding this technology, in terms of its resilience to attacks, and scalability and performance, remains an important open research and development question that is at the core of BTL’s mission. It is a coordinated effort between academia and industry that aspires to provide advances, both foundational and applied, and ensure that the maximal potential of the technology can be realised in an expedient manner.

This post is full-time (35 hours per week),

Your skills and attributes for success:

• Degree in appropriate field.
• PhD (or near completion) in Computer Science
• Strong track record of publications in relevant top conferences and journals.
• Ability to communicate complex information clearly, orally and in writing.
A good understanding of both theoretical and applied concepts in computer security, cryptography, software engineering, distributed systems, peer to peer networks, programming languages.

Click to view a copy of the full job description (opens new browser tab )

Contact details for enquiries (name and email address): Professor Aggelos Kiayias (akiayias@inf.ed.ac.uk)

As a valued member of our team you can expect:

• A competitive salary of £39,347 - £46,974
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, a defined benefits pension scheme, staff discounts, family-friendly initiatives, and flexible work options. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page (opens in a new tab) and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits

Championing equality, diversity and inclusion

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages (opens new browser tab)

The University is able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. If successful, an international applicant requiring sponsorship to work in the UK will need to satisfy the UK Home Office’s English Language requirements and apply for and secure a Skilled Worker Visa.

Key dates to note

The closing date for applications is 20 June 2024.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

Feedback is only provided to interviewed candidates.