Research Associate/Senior Research Associate in Operating Systems Software for Secure I/O

Fixed-term: The funds for this post are available until 31 December 2024.

CHERI is a novel processor architecture that combines strong memory safety with scalable software compartmentalisation.  As part of the Innovate UK Digital Security by Design programme, Arm has produced the Morello prototype system-on-chip, which enables evaluation of CHERI and its hardware and software stack at all levels in a modern computer system.

The CAPcelerate project is exploring security of accelerators as part of a wider DSbD programme, and considering how to provide memory safety to accelerators and I/O devices.   In particular we are interested in how memory is used across different parts of the software stack, for example between applications, driver stack (e.g. OpenGL/CUDA/Tensorflow Lite/SmartNIC) and its compilers, kernel (particularly FreeBSD), memory management (capability-based and MMU/IOMMU), device hardware and firmware.

We are looking for a Research Associate/SRA with interest in one or more of the following:

• Operating systems
• Firmware / embedded development
• System-on-chip development on FPGA or ASIC

We are looking for someone who is able to contribute at multiple layers in the software (and optionally hardware) stack.  We would expect a successful candidate to have:

• A good understanding of computer systems engineering, especially at the OS level and below
• Familiarity with systems programming (e.g. C, C++, Rust) in an operating system or embedded context
• Awareness of topics in operating systems security

Additionally it would be advantageous for the candidate to have one or more of the following:

• A research background, able to take the lead in a substantial piece of independent systems research
• Familiarity with software engineering techniques, continuous integration and build systems of large scale projects, such as operating systems
• Experience of software stack(s) for GPUs or other accelerators
• Familiarity with system-on-chip design and development
• Familiarity with FPGA development

Appointment will be made at a level (research associate or senior research associate) depending on the qualification and experience of the candidate.  Those who are close to submitting a PhD will initially be appointed as a Research Assistant and amended upon graduation.  Candidates should provide evidence of relevant work, where possible, and must demonstrate a desire to perform internationally leading research and to publish in the top conferences in the area.

The funds covering this post are available for two years with some flexibility over start dates.  For additional background regarding the CHERI technology being developed by the team and its collaborators, please see our Technical Report UCAM-CL-TR-941, An Introduction to CHERI.

Further details may be obtained from Prof. Timothy Jones (https://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~tmj32/). 

Please ensure you upload a covering letter, a curriculum vitae, a brief research statement and contact information of 2 references. If you upload any additional documents, which have not been requested, we will not be able to consider these as part of your application.

Please quote reference NR35254 on your application and in any correspondence about this vacancy.

The University actively supports equality, diversity and inclusion and encourages applications from all sections of society.

The University has a responsibility to ensure that all employees are eligible to live and work in the UK.

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