Thesis (M/F): certified compilation of low-level programming languages

European Commission; France; Sur place; EUR 25 000 - 35 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

The European Commission is seeking a doctoral student for a research position at Loria, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France. The role includes studying compilation techniques for secure cryptographic programs. Ideal candidates will have previous experience with the Jasmin compiler and a strong understanding of formal methods.

Qualifications

• Previous experience with the Jasmin compiler is strongly recommended.
• Understanding of formal models and cryptography is advantageous.
• Familiarity with secure programming practices is essential.

Responsabilités

• Study compilation techniques for efficient and secure program writing.
• Improve compiler flexibility while controlling low-level details.
• Explore modularity techniques in Jasmin programs.

Connaissances

Compilation techniques

Secure programming

Formal models

Formation

Doctoral student

Outils

Jasmin compiler

Coq

Description du poste

Organisation/Company: CNRS

Department: Laboratoire lorrain de recherche en informatique et ses applications

Research Field: Computer science, Mathematics » Algorithms

Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)

Country: France

Application Deadline: 31 Jul 2025 - 23:59 (UTC)

Type of Contract: Temporary

Job Status: Full-time

Hours Per Week: 35

Offer Starting Date: 1 Oct 2025

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? No

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

The doctoral student will be hosted at Loria, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France, will join the Pesto team, and will interact with the members of the Formosa Crypto group. Loria is a research unit (UMR 7503), common to CNRS, the University of Lorraine, CentraleSupélec and Inria. Pesto is an Inria research team focused on building formal models and techniques for computer-aided analysis and design of security protocols. The Formosa Crypto Group studies and develops formally verified cryptography and its high-efficiency implementations, particularly through tools like Jasmin and EasyCrypt.

The Jasmin language is designed for implementing high-assurance cryptographic libraries, allowing control for optimal performance and security properties such as "constant-time" to prevent timing side-channel attacks. Its compiler, written and certified in Coq, ensures correctness from source to assembly.

The doctoral work aims to study compilation techniques to streamline writing efficient, secure programs and verifying them. The project focuses on improving compiler flexibility without losing control over low-level details or the ability to reason about program behaviors after compilation. It also explores techniques for modularity in Jasmin programs, validated through large case studies.

Previous experience with the Jasmin compiler is strongly recommended.