Research Assistant / Ph.D. position, Area of IoT Security

About us:

The project "Digital Transformation of Healthcare Provision in Regional Areas" (TransVer), funded by the State of Lower Saxony under the zukunft.niedersachsen program, scientifically accompanies the transformation process of hospitals into digitalized regional healthcare centers. The goal is to develop new medical and technical solutions that enable attractive, modern, and locally accessible healthcare provision and address the needs of the population. This also includes the question of how hospital facilities can be meaningfully repurposed – for example, with digital assistance systems for new on‑site healthcare services. For more information about the project and additional positions, visit (website is currently only available in German).

A key driver of the transformation is the digitalization and automation of entire care pathways. Connected medical IoT devices, robotics, and telemedicine solutions are to be integrated and adapted to the requirements of care in regional healthcare centers. This includes the security and availability of the infrastructure and IoT devices, the appropriateness of human‑technology and human‑robot interaction, and the provision of all relevant treatment information while maintaining high data protection requirements.

Within the project, the Safety‑Security‑Interaction group researches the protection of the IoT environment against various attackers. A core focus will be on the detection of attacks and appropriate response mechanisms. Due to the medical context, developed solutions must meet special conditions, such as specific safety or speed requirements. Given the diversity and number of IoT devices, a special emphasis will be placed on network‑based security concepts.

Your tasks:

• Addressing challenging research questions in the field of IoT security within the TransVer research project described above
• Publishing scientific papers in this field at leading international conferences
• Co‑supervising students in this research area
• Collaboration with other researchers in the Safety‑Security‑Interaction group and in the interdisciplinary sub‑projects of TransVer, including joint publications
• Consolidating and analyzing interdisciplinary results from TransVer's sub‑projects, for example in project workshops.

Your profile:

Requirements:

• A completed academic degree (Diplom or Master) in Computer Science or Mathematics (with appropriate specialization in Computer Science); other comparable fields are also considered
  • Topics in IT security, computer networks, and machine learning (all broadly interpreted) must have been a documented part of your studies with at least 5 ECTS credits each.
• Very good programming skills in relevant programming languages such as C/C++, Java, or Python
• Excellent English proficiency, both written and spoken
• Willingness to pursue a doctoral degree
• A convincing motivation letter (max. 1 page) that clearly relates to the mentioned research area and the TransVer project and contains at least the following points:
  • What particularly interests you about the mentioned research area and the Safety‑Security‑Interaction group?
  • How does your academic background fit the position, and what technical knowledge do you have that qualifies you particularly well for the role?
  • What would you like to contribute scientifically to the mentioned research area?

Advantagous:

• Practical experience in academic research, demonstrated by, for example, a by you (co‑)authored peer‑reviewed publication in relevant conferences or journals
• German proficiency, both written and spoken

We offer:

• The opportunity to work on exciting research topics with great scientific relevance
• Prospects for publishing research results in leading international conferences such as USENIX Security, IEEE S&P, NDSS, …
• Support and guidance during your employment, especially regarding your research
• A young, friendly, and highly motivated team
• Compensation according to collective agreements (annual bonus payment, occupational pension scheme, savings incentives) including 30 days annual leave
• A family‑friendly environment with flexible working hours (flextime) and the possibility of partial remote work
• Occupational health promotion services
• An extensive free training program and dedicated support for young researchers (

Our standards:

The University of Oldenburg is dedicated to increase the percentage of female employees in the field of science. Therefore, female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply. In accordance to § 21 Section 3 NHG, female candidates with equal qualifications will be preferentially considered. Applicants with disabilities will be given preference in case of equal qualification.

Further information:

School II – Computing Science, Business Administration, Economics, and Law of the University of Oldenburg offers a modern, interdisciplinary academic environment in which technical, economic, and societal perspectives are brought together. Within this faculty, the Department of Computer Science stands for research‑intensive and practice‑oriented academic education.

The Safety‑Security‑Interaction department is a research and teaching‑active group that is concerned with the development of theoretically sound technologies for maintaining the security of IT systems in the context of safety‑critical systems and the Internet of Things. The main emphasis lies on developing security solutions tailored to the context‑specific conditions in safety‑critical systems, thereby giving special importance to studying the interaction between the security and the safety of the systems to be protected.

The opportunity for personal academic qualification (doctoral degree) is provided and explicitly supported!