CWI is an internationally renowned research institute in mathematics and computer science, located in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The focus is on fundamental research problems, inspired by societal needs. Research is carried out in 18 research groups and a substantial fraction is carried out in the framework of (inter)national programs.

VACANCY

CWI has a vacancy for a talented PhD candidate in the DB Architectures group (http://www.cwi.nl/en/research-groups/Database-Architectures).

DISTRIBUTED DATABASE ARCHITECTURES FOR SCIENCE APPLICATIONS

The Database Architectures group is one of the world-wide leading groups in system-oriented database research, e.g., it received the 10-year best paper award at VLDB 2009 for their pioneering research on hardware-aware database technology and the column-store model. The group has a unique methodology that combines fundamental database research with active participation of all group members in database engineering, centered around the open-source analytical database system MonetDB (http://www.monetdb.org/). You will be expected to write both papers and contribute to this code base.

The focus of the group is on hard core data management and for this position specifically on database architectures to support large scale scientific applications in the context of the SciLens project (http://www.scilens.org). The goal is to leverage the potential power of a 330 node dedicated database machine to improve science in, e.g., astronomy and seismology. (http://www.scilens.org/content/platform)

CWI maintains excellent relations with industry and the academic world, both in the Netherlands as well as abroad. An internship at one of the partnering database research labs world-wide is considered part of the PhD track. After their research careers at CWI, many staff members find employment in these sectors or in spin-off companies based on research results from CWI. Of course, library and computing facilities are first-class. CWI's non-scientific services to its personnel include career planning, training and courses, assistance in finding housing, and tailor-made solutions to problems that may occasionally arise.

REQUIREMENTS

The PhD candidates must have a master degree in computer science, (specialization distributed systems, database, software engineering) mathematics, or related fields. Preferable qualifications for candidates include proven research talent, system programming skills (C/C++), practical experience with database systems, and software development in a team.

One should bring good academic writing and presentation skills. Candidates are expected to have an excellent command of English.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

The terms of employment are in accordance with the Dutch "CAO-onderzoeksinstellingen". Moreover, CWI offers attractive working conditions, including flexibility and help with housing for foreigners.

The gross monthly salary (on a full time basis) will be € 2,037 during the first year and will reach € 2,610 during the fourth year.

INFORMATION

Additional information can be obtained from prof.dr. Martin Kersten, email martin.kersten@cwi.nl, telephone +31(0)20 592 4066, or dr. Stefan Manegold, email stefan.manegold@cwi.nl, telephone +31(0)20 592 4212.