Research Associate

at  University of Edinburgh

THE OPPORTUNITY:

The School of Informatics at the University of Edinburgh invites applications for a Postdoctoral Researcher (Research Associate) in areas including quantum cryptography, cryptanalysis, hardware security and quantum hardware modules, for a QuantERA project: “Hardware Security Module for secure delegated Quantum Cloud Computing” (HSM-QCC, link: https://quantera.eu/hsm-qcc/). The project aims at developing an independent trusted execution module capable of ensuring secure quantum computing in a cloud environment. The consortium includes several universities and industry partners in Europe, and the University of Edinburgh team, led by PI, Dr. Myrto Arapinis , and CoI, Dr. Mina Doosti, will work mainly on protocol design and security analysis. This role is also part of Quantum Software Lab (QSL, link: https://www.quantumsoftwarelab.com), in collaboration with the National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC, link: https://www.nqcc.co.uk). QSL, is the leading place for theoretical quantum research in the UK, and currently comprises approximately 50 core members, including eight permanent staff, under the leadership of Prof. Elham Kashefi, Personal Chair in Quantum Computing and the Chief Scientist at the NQCC.
We strongly encourage applications from female researchers, minority ethnic groups, first generation academics/STEM and other underrepresented groups in academia. We also are very open to applications from those with non-traditional career paths, including those with family, caring or health career breaks, or those who have moved to academia from a career in another sector.
This post is full-time (35 hours per week), fixed term for 18 months (with the potential for extension subject to the availability of additional funding)
The salary for this post is UE07 £40,247 to £47,874 per annum.

The successful candidates will work as part The “Hardware Security Module for secure delegated Quantum Cloud Computing” (HSM-QCC) QuantERA project. The project consortium consists of University of Twente (NL, lead), University of Edinburgh, University of Sorbonne (FR), Eötvös Loránd University (HU), and industry partners including Quixquantum, Veriqloud, and Thales France. As part of this project, the candidate may work on

• Developing new quantum hardware-based primitives that are provably secure and efficiently implementable on small and medium-scale quantum devices.

• Security analysis of the existing quantum HSM and resources designed and implemented during the project.Designing new practical and quantum-secure protocols for the multi-party verifiable secure quantum computing.

• The successful candidate is also expected to be actively involved with the collaborators and project partners, attend the consortium meetings, and take part in the communication and reporting of the project. As part of the QuantERA project, the candidate will have the opportunity to engage in an international research environment and a European scale project, as well as engage with experimental labs and industry partners.
  Working at QSL provides a unique opportunity for the successful candidate to work in an international, active and extremely collaborative environment, both within the lab, the School of Informatics, and with NQCC’s research scientists, industry professionals and application engineers

DESIRABLE

• Extensive experience of working with multiple allied partners in research networks.
• Experience in collaboration with experimental researchers especially in quantum optics.
• A track record of first author and collaborative publication in high-quality journals or conferences, including in quantum computing literature.Experience and evidence of effective independent research work within an interdisciplinary team. More broadly, demonstrated ability to design and complete research projects, to solve problems independently and make original contributions to research.
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