Update: these positions have been filled.
1 postdoc positions and 1 PhD student positions
in Model-Driven Engineering, Domain-Specific Languages, and Software Evolution
at Delft University of Technology
The Delft Software Engineering Group has openings for two postdoctoral
researchers and two PhD students in the area of model-driven engineering,
domain-specific languages, and software evolution.
The positions are available in the
Model-Driven Software Evolution (MoDSE)
project, which is funded
by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) in its
software engineering program
JACQUARD.
Research Description
The promise of model-driven engineering (MDE) is that the development
and maintenance effort can be reduced by working at the model instead
of the code level. Models define what is variable in a system, and
code generators produce the functionality that is common in the
application domain.
The problem with model-driven engineering is that it can lead to a
lock-in in the abstractions and generator technology adopted at
project initiation. Software systems need to evolve, and systems
built using model-driven approaches are no exception. What complicates
model-driven engineering is that it requires multiple dimensions of
evolution. In regular evolution, the modeling language is used to
make the changes. In meta-model evolution, changes are required to
the modeling notation. In platform evolution, the code generators and
application framework change to reflect new requirements on the target
platform. Finally, in abstraction evolution, new modeling languages
are added to the set of (modeling) languages to reflect increased
understanding of a technical or business domain. While MDE has been
optimized for regular evolution, presently little or no support exists
for metamodel, platform and abstraction evolution. It is this gap
that this project proposes to address.
The first fundamental premise of this proposal is that evolution
should be a continuous process. Software development is a continuous
search for recurring patterns, which can be captured using
domain-specific modeling languages. After developing a number of
systems using a particular meta-model, new patterns may be recognized
that can be captured in a higher-level or richer meta-model. The
second premise is that reengineering of legacy systems to the
model-driven paradigm should be a special case of this continuous
evolution, and should be performed incrementally.
The goal of this project is to develop a systematic approach to
model-driven software evolution. This approach includes methods,
techniques, and underlying tool support. We will develop a prototype
programming environment that assists software engineers with the
introduction, development, and maintenance of models and
domain-specific languages.
Context
The project will be conducted in the Software Engineering Research Group at Delft
University of Technology, in particular its Software Evolution Research Lab, which
has a expertise in the following areas
- program analysis
- reverse engineering
- software transformation
- software generation
- domain-specific languages
- grammar engineering
The project will build on previous work in these areas,
in particular on the program transformation work in the
Stratego/XT project. See also the following websites.
The full proposal is available on request.
The Job
The funding is for two post-doc positions of three years and two
PhD student positions for four years.
Appointment as a post-doc requires a completed PhD thesis and
experience in one or more of the topics relevant to the project, as
witnessed by refereed publications in conference proceedings or
journals. You will be employed by Delft University of Technology for
a period of three years. Salary depends on prior experience, and will
be in one of the salary scales 10 to 12 (with maximum salary at 4605
euros a month) as stipulated by the Collective Labour Agreement for
the Dutch Universities (see www.vsnu.nl).
Appointment as a PhD student requires a completed MsC thesis in
Computer Science, preferably in a topic related to the MoDSE project
(software engineering and programming languages). You will be employed
by Delft University of Technology for a period of four years. The
estimated starting monthly PhD salary is 1,956 euro gross, with a
maximum of 2,502 euro gross in the fourth year. The position is
expected to lead to a dissertation in the fourth year. Benefits
and other employment conditions are in accordance with the Collective
Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities (www.vsnu.nl). For further
details about conditions of employment, please consult the website of
Delft University of Technology (www.tudelft.nl).
For more information, please contact
Application
Send your letter of application, together with a comprehensive
curriculum vitae, a list of your publications and a list of your
academic results (preferably by e-mail) to:
dr. Eelco Visser
Software Engineering Research Group
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EWI)
Department of Software Technology
Delft University of Technology
Mekelweg 4
2628 CD Delft
The Netherlands
E-mail: visser@acm.org
The positions will be filled as soon as suitable candidates are found.