PostDoc/Senior Researcher in Smart Contract Security Analysis using Formal Methods

Position: Post-doc/senior researcher in smart contract security analysis using formal methods.

Institution: Cryptography and Blockchain Lab, University of Warsaw, Poland

We are looking for a post-doc/senior researcher in an Advanced Grant “PROCONTRA” funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and led by Stefan Dziembowski. The task of the successful candidate will be to substantially contribute to our efforts of formally verifying cryptographic protocols that interact with smart contracts deployed on blockchains. Examples of such protocols include “state channels,” “Plasma,” or “rollups” (see, e.g., the publications of Stefan Dziembowski for more on such protocols).

We are currently focusing on applying proof assistants and automated provers (such as Coq, Easycrypt, Why3) to achieve this goal. We aim to formalize cryptography using the Universal Composability framework. Still, a successful candidate will be given substantial academic freedom and can work on various research problems related to the project’s central theme. We require good background on formal verification, documented by publications. Knowledge of cryptography is a plus but is not required.

We offer an internationally competitive salary, a substantial budget for travel and equipment, and membership in a young and vibrant team with several international contacts. The funding is available until the end of 2025, and the position can last until then (this is subject to negotiations).

For more information, please get in touch with the project leader, Stefan Dziembowski, by sending an email to s.dziembowski@uw.edu.pl.