Research Associate in Flaky Tests

University of Sheffield; Sheffield; On-site; GBP 16,000 - 17,000; Part time

Job summary

A leading educational institution in the UK is seeking a Research Software Engineer to work on the EPSRC-funded Test FLARE project focused on flaky software testing. The ideal candidate should possess a degree in Software Engineering or Computer Science and be pursuing a PhD, with proven experience in developing tools for flaky tests. Responsibilities include designing software tools, conducting research, and bridging the gap between theory and practice. The position offers a competitive salary of £16,623 per annum for 15 hours a week.

Qualifications

• Proven experience writing tools to address flaky tests.
• Experience with static analysis, dynamic analysis, or code instrumentation.
• Empirical studies on large-scale codebases to validate tool effectiveness.

Responsibilities

• Design, implementation, and maintenance of software tools for flaky tests.
• Conduct supporting research into the root causes of non-determinism.
• Bridge theoretical research and practical software engineering.

Skills

Experience writing tools to address flaky tests

Developing analysis tools

Deep technical understanding of software testing frameworks

Continuous integration (CI) pipelines

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Software Engineering or Computer Science

Working towards a PhD in testing reliability

Job description

Job description:
We are seeking a Research Software Engineer to join the EPSRC-funded Test FLARE project, which focuses on Flaky Software Test Analysis and Repair. This initiative addresses one of the most persistent challenges in modern software development: "flaky tests"—automated tests that pass and fail non-deterministically without changes to the code.

In this role, you will bridge the gap between theoretical research and practical software engineering. Your primary responsibility will be the design, implementation, and maintenance of software tools intended to detect, reproduce, and mitigate flaky tests within real-world environments. You will also conduct supporting research into the root causes of non-determinism, performing empirical studies on large-scale codebases to validate tool effectiveness and improve the technical understanding of test stability.

Candidates must possess a bachelor’s or master’s degree in Software Engineering or Computer Science, and be working towards a PhD with a specific focus on testing reliability. Crucially, you must have proven experience writing tools to address flaky tests and have encountered and mitigated them in practice. Expertise in developing analysis tools, such as static analysis, dynamic analysis, or code instrumentation, is required, alongside a deep technical understanding of software testing frameworks and continuous integration (CI) pipelines.

We are committed to exploring flexible working opportunities which benefit the individual and University.
We build teams of people from different heritages and lifestyles from across the world, whose talent and contributions complement each other to greatest effect. We believe diversity in all its forms delivers greater impact through research, teaching and student.

£38,784 pro rata (equivalent to full-time salary), with an actual salary of £16,623 per annum based on 15 hours a week.