Research Fellow

The University of Surrey is a global community of ideas and people, dedicated to life-changing education and research. 

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Our culture empowers people to achieve this aim and to collectively, and individually, make a real difference.  

The role

Applications are invited for a 30-months Research Fellow in E-Voting to work full time on an EPSRC-funded project TrustVote: Dispute-Resolution Mechanisms and Systems for Private and Verifiable Voting. The successful post holder is expected to start as soon as possible and will be based in the Department of Computer Science and its highly regarded Surrey Centre for Cyber Security (SCCS), working with Dr. Cătălin Drăgan.

The aim of the project is to build foundations for dispute-resolution and to enhance existing protocols (e.g., Helios, Belenios, Selene, ElectionGuard, Swiss Postal Voting) and/or propose new voting protocols or dispute-resolution mechanisms.  Based on the successful candidate’s expertise and interest the role can incorporate machine-checked proof guarantees using tools such as EasyCrypt, Squirrel, Proverif, etc.

The Surrey Centre for Cyber Security (SCCS) is a widely recognized centre of excellence for cyber security research and teaching. There are approximately 17 permanent academic members and 15 non-academic researchers with expertise on voting, formal modelling and verification, applied cryptography, trust systems, social media, communication and networks, and blockchain and distributed ledger technologies over key sectors such as government, finance, communications, transport and cross-sector technologies. 

About you

• We are looking for applicants that demonstrate strong research and analytical skills, have strong communication skills and enthusiasm for developing their own research ideas.  
• Applicants should have expertise in one of the following areas: e-voting, or formal verification of cryptographic protocols, or provable security.
• A PhD in Computer Science, Mathematics, or other closely related area (or be on course of getting one very soon at the time of application).

How to apply

To apply for this role, please upload a CV and cover letter with your application on the University of Surrey Website. 

The post runs until October 31^th 2026. For informal enquiries and further information please contact Dr. Cătălin Drăgan c.dragan@surrey.ac.uk 

Further details:   

Please note, it is University Policy to offer a starting salary equivalent to Level 3.6 (£34,980) to successful applicants who have been awarded, but are yet to receive, their PhD certificate.  Once the original PhD certificate has been submitted to the local HR Department, the salary will be increased to Level 4.1 (£36,024).

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