Graduate Research Assistant Position in Programming Languages and Software Engineering

Overview

I am currently seeking a graduate student interested in programming languages and software engineering research to commence at the Fall 2020 semester. While the topic is open, potential research topics may include (static/dynamic) program analysis and/or transformation (e.g., refactoring) with a focus on helping to maintain and/or evolve large and complex software efficiently, effectively, and securely. Potential topics may also include automated bug finding approaches and empirical studies. The successful candidate will be expected to work on projects that normally yield open source developer tool research prototypes, typically plug-ins to popular IDEs, build systems, or static analyzers. More information can be found on the main supervisor’s web page.

Of particular interest are students interested in applying to the City University of New York – CUNY’s Graduate Center Ph.D. program in Computer Science concurrently with the research assistantship.

Please see below for additional details on applying. 

Topics of Interest

• Static code analysis
• Dynamic code analysis
• Program transformation
• Automated refactoring
• Software evolution and software security
• Empirical software engineering

Keywords

programming languages, software engineering, software evolution, refactoring, static analysis, dynamic analysis, IDEs, developer tools, software evolution, software security, software composition, empirical studies

Location

The graduate student will have a shared lab space with an available personal computer at the Computer Science Department, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA. The Ph.D. program mentioned earlier is part of the Computer Science Department, The Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Funding

Successful candidates will receive a stipend of $26,128 US/year, which may include part-time teaching obligations. Funding will be renewable annually based on performance. Funding is available for up to five years and includes tuition and low-cost individual and family health insurance eligibility. Successful candidates will also be encouraged to apply for additional internal and/or external funding when appropriate.

Start Date

For students applying to the City University of New York – CUNY’s Graduate Center Ph.D. program in Computer Science concurrently with the research assistantship, the Graduate Center’s semester start date is August 2020. The research assistantship may start earlier depending on the successful applicant’s circumstances. Successful applicants are encouraged to discuss their particular circumstances with the supervisor.

Contact

Dr. Raffi Khatchadourian, main supervisor. More info at this web page.

Expected Skills and Qualifications

Successful candidates will have earned either a BS or MSc degree (or equivalent) in Computer Science or a related field. A successful candidate will have a strong practical and theoretical background in Object-Oriented programming language and (front-end) compilers, data structures, algorithms, software design patterns, software testing, and a variety of software engineering tools, e.g., IDEs, build systems, and version control. A successful candidate will also have a strong foundation in mathematical logic and set theory. Candidates with industrial experience are welcome.

Successful candidates will possess a strong set of software engineering skills. Successful candidates will also have high-quality analytical skills. Experience in Eclipse plug-in development, relational databases, software security, software composition techniques, and/or data mining is a plus.

Applying

Please complete the following form. Please note that partial form submissions can be saved for later completion.

For students interested in applying to the City University of New York – CUNY’s Graduate Center Ph.D. program in Computer Science concurrently with the research assistantship, information and requirements regarding admission are available here. The Computer Science program requirements are listed here. Note that the college program requirements include a GRE exam. International students are encouraged to visit this web page for more information regarding international requirements.