Computer Science: Fully Funded PhD studentship in Zero-knowledge Succinct Non-interactive Argum[...]

Swansea University; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 21,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading UK university is offering a PhD Researcher position in Computer Science focusing on developing algorithms for counting encrypted ballots using the single transferable vote method. Candidates should have a 2.1 undergraduate degree or a master's degree at 'Merit', with familiarity in Coq and a functional programming language like Haskell or OCaml. The scholarship covers full tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rates. Position starts on April 1, 2026.

Benefits

Full tuition fee coverage

Annual stipend at UKRI rate (£20,780 for 2025/26)

Additional research expenses up to £1,000 per year

Qualifications

• Comfortable with a functional programming language like Haskell or OCaml.
• Familiar with Coq and Cryptography.
• Degree at 2.1 level in relevant disciplines.

Responsibilities

• Develop an algorithm/protocol for counting encrypted ballots using STV method.
• Formalise the process with Coq theorem prover.
• Ensure correctness and privacy in election systems.

Skills

Familiarity with Coq

Cryptography

Functional programming languages (Haskell, OCaml)

Education

Undergraduate degree at 2.1 level in Computer Science or Mathematics

Master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at 'Merit'

Job description

Organisation/Company Swansea University Department Central Research Field Computer science Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Positions PhD Positions Country United Kingdom Application Deadline 2 Feb 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/London) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 1 Apr 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Recently, many councils in Wales started using single transferable vote (STV) method for counting ballots. While counting plaintext ballots using STV method is straightforward, but a rank-based ballot may leak the voter’s preferences if published publicly in plaintext, as the ranking order can reveal detailed information about the voter’s identity. Therefore, encryption is necessary to hide the ranking. However, STV method becomes considerably more complex with encrypted ballots. Our goal is to develop an algorithm/protocol to count encrypted ballots using the STV method. Our first point of investigation will be zero-knowledge succinct non-interactive argument of knowledge-- ZkSNARK. Subsequently, we will formalise the front-end (R1CS) and back-end (Groth16) of ZkSNARK in the Coq theorem prover and use this formalisation to encode our STV algorithm on encrypted ballots. This approach aims to ensure both the correctness and privacy of the tallying process, paving the way for verifiable and secure election systems that are resistant to coercion.

Requirement: You are not required to be an expert in Coq or Cryptography; familiarity with Coq and Cryptography is fine. However, you should be comfortable with a functional programming language Haskell, OCaml, etc.

PhD: Applicants for PhD must hold an undergraduate degree at 2.1 level in Computer Science, Mathematics or a closely related discipline, or an appropriate master’s degree with a minimum overall grade at ‘Merit’ (or non-UK equivalent as defined by Swansea University). Note for international and European applicants: details of how your qualification compares to the published academic entry requirements can be found on our Country Specific Entry Requirements page.

Additional Information

This scholarship covers the full cost of tuition fees and an annual stipend at UKRI rate (currently £20,780 for 2025/26).

Additional research expenses of up to £1,000 per year will also be available.

Selection process

Please see our website for more information