PhD Position in Secure Cloud Systems
Scalable and confidential unikernels
Salary: TV-L E13, 100% (≈ €4,850 gross/month)
Start: Early 2027
Duration: 3 years
Application deadline: 30 November 2026
About Us
The Operating Systems group designs, builds and evaluates operating systems and low-level system software. Our research covers scheduling, memory management, unikernels, virtualisation and binary translation. We build real systems, often in the Linux kernel, and publish at the top venues of the field. We are part of RWTH Aachen University, one of Germany’s top research universities, on the Belgian and Dutch borders.
Research Topic
Cloud providers isolate tenants with VMs, unikernels and confidential computing (AMD SEV, Intel TDX), but this isolation makes communication between services expensive. We rethink OS and hypervisor design to reconcile security and performance: how can a single unikernel safely scale to many processes and applications? How can confidential VMs communicate both efficiently and securely?
This position is funded by the DFG as part of SDCOS, a French–German project with LIP6, Paris.
Your Tasks
- Design, implement and evaluate new OS and hypervisor mechanisms as part of your PhD
- Present your work at top international venues
- Release your work as open-source software
- Contribute to the group’s teaching activities
- Co-supervise Bachelor’s and Master’s theses
Your Profile
- Master’s degree in computer science or similar
- Solid knowledge of OS and virtualisation
- Strong C skills; kernel/hypervisor work is a plus
- Very good English, our working language; German is not required
What We Offer
- Close supervision in a small, supportive team
- A funded position in a French–German project
- Travel to top conferences (EuroSys, SOSP, …)
- Flexible hours, partial remote work, 30 days of paid leave, health benefits, and more
Application Process
To apply, please send the following documents in PDF format by email to contact@os.rwth-aachen.de with the subject [Application] PhD position – SDCOS:
- A statement of purpose (max. 2 pages) describing your motivation and research interests
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Transcripts
- Contact details of two referees
The application deadline is 30 November 2026. For questions about the position, contact Prof. Redha Gouicem, Ph.D. at the same address.
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