Assistant, Tenure-Track Assistant, and Associate Professorships in Software Engineering and Software Technology

SDU Centre for Software Technology in Vejle, part of the Software Engineering units at SDU situated at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), invite applications for one or more positions within software engineering and software technology. The positions are open from beginning of 2027, and the specific start date will be agreed with the successful candidates.

The application deadline is September 30, 2026, at 11:59 PM/23:59 (CET/CEST)

What we offer

With a position at SDU, you will:

• be part of one of our dynamic research centres with both a national and international profile, while working in areas of tremendous potential and societal relevance;

• join collaborations across the university, as well as with national, international, and industrial research partners;

• help establish joint innovation projects in close collaboration with industry and the local society;

• help build up the research and educational environment;

• contribute to the teaching programmes in Software Engineering at the highest level for undergraduate and graduate students at SDU;

• join a harmonious workplace environment that is conducive to productivity, promotes creativity, and rewards and recognizes individuals and group achievement;

• have the opportunity to live and work in one of the happiest countries in the world that also offers excellent and free health and education systems.

What we expect

The focus of the SDU Centre for Software Technology is research and education in software engineering, interactive technology and artificial intelligence. We see these areas complementing each other to make way for the engineering of the next generation of reliable, intelligent and interactive software solutions. We are particularly interested in software operated in real life, systems that adapt at runtime, span embedded devices, edge infrastructure and the cloud, that people work with and trust, and that increasingly answer to regulation. This includes understanding how AI technologies and data-informed software development with a human-centred perspective can change the engineering of products and software infrastructures.

The positions are open in any of the software engineering and software technology research areas of interest to the centres, which include:

• AI for Software Engineering and Software Engineering for AI

• Software Architecture and Design, including Architecting for AI Systems and AI-assisted Architecting

• LLM-based, Agentic, and Multi-agent Software Systems

• Human-AI collaboration in Software Development

• Software Engineering for Physical AI and Embodied Systems

• Self-Adaptive and Autonomous Software Systems

• AI Orchestration and Infrastructure for AI Compute Offloading

• Software Engineering for Embedded, Cyber-Physical and IoT-Edge-Cloud Systems

• Governance, Compliance and Accountability of AI-Enabled Software

• Human-Centred and Socio-Technical Software Engineering

• Software Testing and Quality Assurance

• Software Operation, Evolution, Maintenance, Recovery and Modernization

• Software Reliability Engineering

• Empirical Software Engineering

• Requirements Engineering, Specification, and Modelling

Who we are looking for

We are looking for candidates who have demonstrated research excellence appropriate to their career stage, who show a clear path towards an independent and internationally recognised research programme, and who are able and willing to contribute to competitive national and international funding applications. We also expect an interest in working across disciplines, in supervising students and junior researchers, and in teaching and advising in software engineering at all levels.

We expect applicants to hold a PhD in software engineering, computer science or a closely related discipline, completed before the application deadline.

For the tenure-track assistant professor positions we expect at least one year of research experience beyond the PhD, gained in academia, at a research institute or in industry. Applicants must demonstrate a higher level of achievement in research and related professional activities than generally expected of assistant professor applicants, as well as the potential to attain international research excellence within their field and meet the criteria for employment as an associate professor during the tenure track assistant professorship.

For the associate professor positions we expect a research and teaching record corresponding to several years of independent work after the PhD, including documented teaching and supervision experience.

We particularly welcome applications from candidates who publish in leading venues in the field, such as ICSE, FSE, ASE, ICSA, ECSA, MLSys, DATE, RE, SEAMS, ICSME, SANER, MODELS, ESEM, ICPE and CAiSE, EICS; and in journals such as TSE, TOSEM, EMSE, JSS, IST and IEEE Software.

Fluency in English is required. Knowledge of Danish is not a requirement, and successful applicants will be offered Danish language courses.

Workplace description

The University of Southern Denmark

The University of Southern Denmark is one of the youngest universities in Denmark, founded in 1966. The university is founded around the goal of providing the right knowledge at the right time to support society. The university targets major, complex societal problems of a cross-disciplinary nature such as climate, welfare, health and technology, tackling these in collaboration across faculties.

The Faculty of Engineering

The Faculty of Engineering is driven by the urge to create value for and with society, by curiosity and by the will to create that which only a few could imagine would be possible. Through research, education and collaboration, it is the ambition of the faculty to nurture talent, address challenges, create possibilities, and promote sustainable development. The faculty is strongly engaged with national and international industries and organizations over a broad range of technical domains.

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute

The Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute is an internationally recognized institute, which has maintained a leading position in robotics for more than three decades. The department is the 2nd largest department at SDU, with more than 230 staff members and 1500 students. The institute has over the last decades expanded its activities in interactive technologies, artificial intelligence, and software engineering including building several strong research centres at the SDU campuses in Odense and Sønderborg and with the new centre also in Vejle. Thereby, the institute today covers a wide range of areas in robotics, software, AI, and applied informatics.

Curious?

If you are interested in learning more about the position, please contact:

• Torben Worm (Head of Centres): [email protected]

• Mikkel Baun Kjærgaard (Vice-Head of Centres): [email protected]

• Mahyar Tourchi Moghaddam (Associate Professor): [email protected]

If you experience technical problems, please contact our email support.

Application procedure

Applicants are advised to read the SDU information on how to apply.

Assessment of the candidates is based on the application material, and an application must include:

• Cover letter.

• Curriculum Vitae.

• Master’s and PhD degree certificates or equivalent (copy of original and official English translation).

• Complete list of publications.

• Up to five most relevant publications to the position.

• A research statement.

• For assistant professor applicants: Summary and documentation of experience in teaching

• For associate professor applicants: Teaching Portfolio documenting teaching, learning, and supervision qualifications and approach. Any format is acceptable; see the Faculty's teaching portfolio page for inspiration.

• Up to three reference letters may be included (optional).

• A statement/documentation of other qualifications relevant to the position may also be included (optional).

All documents must be in English and PDF format. CPR number (civil registration number) must be crossed out. All PDF-files must be unlocked, allow binding and may not be password protected.

SUBMISSION GUIDE: Motivated application must be uploaded under ‘Cover letter’ (max. 5 MB), Curriculum Vitae must be uploaded under ‘Resume’ (max 5 MB). All other documents must be uploaded under ‘Miscellaneous documents’ (max 10 files with a maximum 50 MB per file).

The application deadline is September 30, 2026, at 11:59 PM/23:59 (CET/CEST)

Tenure Track at the Faculty of Engineering, SDU
The Faculty of Engineering at SDU offers an attractive tenure track programme aimed at the most talented scholars who have established a high level in their current research and other professional work, and those who possess exceptional potential to achieve the highest international level within their research area.

Candidates enter at the assistant professor level and, upon successful completion, will be promoted to a permanent position as associate professor, subject to a positive assessment by an expert committee.

This evaluation is based on an overall assessment of the candidate's academic achievements and potential. Indicators of relevant scholarly merits include documented ability to develop an independent and internationally recognized research profile, deliver high-quality teaching and supervision, contribute actively to the academic community, and demonstrate the potential to secure competitive external research funding and build an ambitious research programme. The evaluation may also consider the candidate's contributions to the strategic and organizational development of the department, including a willingness to engage in academic leadership and administrative responsibilities.

As part of the tenure-track programme, the Assistant Professor is expected to complete SDU's Lecturer Training Programme before the evaluation, unless an equivalent university-level programme has already been completed at another institution.

The programme includes annual performance reviews, a midterm evaluation by an expert panel, and a final academic assessment. If the final assessment is positive, the candidate will progress to a permanent position as associate professor. If the final evaluation is negative, the assistant professor may request one additional assessment within the last six months of employment. The tenure track period may be extended in connection with maternity, paternity, or adoption leave.

Assessment and selection process

Applications will be assessed by an assessment committee. Shortlisting may be applied, and only shortlisted candidates will receive a written assessment. Read about shortlisting at SDU. Interviews and tests may be part of the overall evaluation. Read about the Assessment and selection process.

Employment terms

Appointment as an assistant professor is temporary and for an initial 3-year period.

Appointment as a tenure track assistant professor is temporary and for an initial 4-year period, with guaranteed assessment for a permanent position as associate professor during the final year of employment.

Appointment as an associate professor is permanent.

Employment requires academic qualifications at a minimum of PhD level at the time of employment, as well as scientific and teaching qualifications commensurate with the position level. Employment will be in accordance with the collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations for academics in the state included the associated circular on the protocol for the job structure for academic staff at Danish universities and the provisions for assistant professor, tenure track assistant professor, or associate professor as described therein.

During employment at assistant professor level (incl. tenure track), the candidate will complete the Lecturer Training Programme.

Salary is determined in accordance with the applicable collective agreement and based on objective and gender-neutral criteria, including the content of the position, responsibilities, and qualification requirements. As an applicant, you are entitled to information about the starting salary and salary range for the position. This information will be provided during the recruitment process. SDU does not collect information on applicants’ previous salary. Further information on salary and taxation.

Persons employed in the position may, based on a specific individual managerial assessment, be exempted from time registration, also known as a “self-organizer”.

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The University of Southern Denmark wishes its staff to reflect the surrounding community and therefore encourages everyone, regardless of personal background, to apply for the position. SDU conducts research in critical technologies, which, due to the risk of unwanted knowledge transfer, is subject to a number of security measures. Therefore, based on information from open sources, background checks may be conducted on candidates for the position(s).