Research Fellow

Contractual hours: 35

We are currently looking for a Research Fellow to join our School of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment (SCEBE) on a full-time, fixed-term (for 18 months till the end of 2026),  basis to work on the “Swarmchestrate - Application-level Swarm-based Orchestration Across the Cloud-to-Things Continuum” project.

You’ll have the opportunity to work on an ongoing EU project called: Swarmchestrate - Application-level Swarm-based Orchestration Across the Cloud-to-Things Continuum. Swarmchestrate project aims to develop a novel orchestration solution to facilitate the automated deployment and runtime management of Cloud-to-Edge-based applications. The development of the Swarmchestrate solution follows the philosophy of a distributed system while utilising a modern set of technologies such as swarm and distributed intelligence, optimisation, Blockchain, trust mechanisms such as Self-Sovereign Identities (SIS) and Distributed Identifiers (DID). 

The overall goal is the development of an application-level orchestrator to support the automated deployment of microservices-based applications and their management in the Cloud-to-Edge ecosystem. The post is part of a joint Horizon Europe research project, supported by the UK Research and Innovation as part of the Horizon Europe scheme guarantee.

This is an excellent opportunity to work with experienced professionals and researchers from all over the world to build relationships, exchange ideas, and work on an exciting research project to enable you to learn, develop and grow professionally.

About the School

SCEBE have over 200 academics, and 3,100 campus-based students, and delivers programmes with professional accreditations from the British Computer Society, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, The Chartered Institute of Building and other accreditation bodies. We have excellent computing, engineering, and construction lab facilities.

The latest UK national research assessment, REF 2021, places our Computer Science research in the top 30 in the whole UK and 3rd best in Scotland (both in power ranking). In terms of research impact, 100% of our work achieved the highest rating (4*), a performance achieved only by six other universities in the whole UK. According to the REF 2021 Edinburgh Napier University is the top-ranking Scottish modern university for both research power and research impact.

The University’s improved research power rating will now see our research funding increase as we take significant strides to grow our reputation as a research-focused institution as well as a teaching one.  We are confident that we are well on our way to establishing ourselves as one of the UK’s world-leading universities in research.

Who are we looking for?

• A PhD in a relevant research area such as distributed computing, cloud/edge systems, or relevant computational resource management area, or equivalent demonstrable research experience in a relevant area.
• Demonstratable experience in conducting research in the field of Cloud/edge computing and distributed systems.
• Demonstratable experience and or/good knowledge of orchestration systems, auto-scaling, and automated resource and application management in the cloud/edge ecosystems.
• A strong publication track record demonstrating the ability to write up research work for high-profile publications.
• Excellent skills in experimental design, experimental practice, and rigorous data analysis.
• Excellent programming skills (preferably in Python, and Java).
• Experience in carrying out both independent and collaborative research.
• Experience and knowledge of using cloud middleware (e.g. OpenStack), Kubernetes, and containers.
• Excellent Latex/Overleaf skills.
• Excellent organisation, prioritisation, and time management skills, with a flexible approach to working.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills to engage effectively with a wide-ranging audience using a range of media.

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