General PhD Call: Summer 2026
Saarbrücken,
Germany
CISPA is growing, and our new faculty members are looking for YOU to work together on new ideas and drive innovation forward!
With this General PhD Call, we would like to give you the opportunity to get to know our new faculty members and their work and to apply for a PhD position by August 31, 2026 (AoE).
Pierre Meyer
RA 1: Algorithmic Foundations & Cryptography
My research focuses on Cryptography, and more specifically on Secure Multiparty Computation. I am also interested in most problems at the frontier between discrete mathematics and theoretical computer science, including Graph Theory, Combinatorics, and Complexity Theory.
These are our new faculty, who would love to work with you!
Learn more about each faculty by clicking on the link to their individual website.
Our Research Areas:
Cristina Garbacea
RA 2: Trustworthy Information Processing
The CRISTAL Lab at CISPA is recruiting PhD students and Postdoctoral researchers to help build the next generation of trustworthy AI systems. We are looking for highly motivated researchers interested in developing the next generation of cutting-edge AI systems that can communicate effectively, reason reliably, operate safely in complex environments, and make transparent and trustworthy decisions.
Marcel Böhme
RA 3: Reliable Security Guarantees
Our group is in the automatic discovery and remediation of security flaws in the world's software systems at scale. Some of us work on the foundations of automatic vulnerability discovery and program analysis in general. For instance, we seek to identify fundamental limits of various technology, we study empirical methods (incl. statistical and causal reasoning) for program analysis, and we explore the assurances that software testing provides when no bugs are found. Our group also develops practical vulnerability discovery tools that are widely used in software security practice. Most recently, we have started developing the nascent field of Agentic Software Security.
Maximiliane Windl
RA 6: Empirical & Behavioural Security
I am looking for highly motivated PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to join my group at the intersection of privacy and human-computer interaction. Together, we explore how intelligent environments can respect human values and evolve responsibly alongside their users. Our research investigates how people perceive privacy risks in emerging technologies, how privacy decisions can be responsibly automated, how tangible privacy mechanisms can empower users, and how research methods for usable privacy can be advanced.
RA 1: Algorithmic Foundations & Cryptography
Research explores algorithmic techniques for solving hard computational problems, particularly on graphs, to advance theoretical foundations and practical applications.
RA 2: Trustworthy Information Processing
Developing secure and privacy-friendly data processing methods is crucial for data-driven ecosystems. This research area focuses on algorithmic sanitization, end-user privacy assessment, and handling unstructured datasets.
RA 3: Reliable Security Guarantees
Formal methods aim to automate secure system analysis and construction, bridging gaps in abstract system models. This includes rigorous security guarantees, runtime monitoring, design-time analysis, and building secure large-scale systems.
RA 4: Threat Detection & Defenses
Threat analysis of complex IT systems is needed to develop detection mechanisms for known and emerging threats. These mechanisms should be able to detect critical incidents while minimizing false alarms to avoid user disregard.
RA 5: Secure Connected & Mobile Systems
Next-generation secure networking and system architectures are needed for interconnected systems. This research area focuses on secure, dependable, and privacy-preserving design for connected and mobile systems.
RA 6: Empirical & Behavioural Security
Research focuses on measuring threats at scale, detecting vulnerabilities in web applications, and exploring secure and private technology design for users and developers.
What We Offer:
- Competitive full time-gross base salary for E13 according to the scale of the TVöD (German Federal Employment Agreement)
- Comprehensive benefits package that includes health insurance coverage, 30 days of paid vacation and a robust pension scheme.
- Possibilities for personal and professional growth, encompassing language classes, research support, as well as extracurricular and social activities
- Our onboarding team will provide you with all the necessary support for a seamless and successful start to your journey with us
- We maintain a trustworthy, inclusive, and safe space and are looking for curious and creative new colleagues willing to learn & grow in an enjoyable and friendly team atmosphere.
What We Expect:
- You have (or soon to finish) a Master’s degree from a research-oriented institution of higher education in a subject relevant to our research.
- You have completed some coursework on topics related to the faculty's research area during their studies and bring a solid base knowledge around the it.
- Excellent English, but no German? CISPA is an international research institute. Knowing German is really not necessary, although daily life is a bit smoother if you speak a few words and if you want to learn German, we offer free courses.
Working at CISPA:
- We promote a flat hierarchy that encourages working together as a cohesive team and contributing one’s perspectives and ideas.
- We offer an excellent research environment with close individual supervision, worldwide collaborations, and with significant funding for travel and equipment.
- Our locations are in Saarbrücken and St. Ingbert, in the Saarland region with international flair (e.g., an International School and distinguished cuisine influenced by the proximity to the French border). Saarland is also known for its green spaces, parks and proximity to nature, providing opportunities for relaxation and outdoor activities.
Application Process
CISPA is committed to increasing the representation of women, minorities, and individuals with disability in Computer Science. In accordance with the Equal Opportunity Plan, CISPA aims at increasing the number of women in Computer Science, and explicitly encourages women to apply. Applications of severely disabled candidates with equivalent qualifications will be given priority. In general, we welcome applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age, sexual orientation and identity.
In case of interest in working at CISPA, press the "Apply now" button at the end of the page. Please upload your documents in PDF format on our application platform. You may submit your application to maximum 3 faculty. Applications via email cannot be accepted.
Application Documents:
- CV* - Cover Letter* - (Bachelor's +) Master's Transcript* - Recommendation Letter
For any questions regarding the application process, please check out our FAQ.
CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security is a German national Science Institution within the Helmholtz Association and provides a unique work environment that offers the advantage of a university department and a research laboratory alike. CISPA's mission is to rethink the digitized world of the future from the ground on up an make it safer through innovative cutting-edge research. CISPA is committed to the highest international academic standards. We offer a world-class research environment that grants extensive resources to a wide range of researchers and constitutes an attractive destination for the best talents and scientists from all countries. CISPA provides a highly international and diverse working environment, currently hosting researchers of over 40 nationalities.
CISPA headquarter is located in Saarbrücken, in the tri-border area of Germany, France and Luxembourg. The CISPA campus is located close to Saarland University, known for its excellence in Computer Science & Cybersecurity programs; the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems; the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI); and more.
For more information about CISPA, see https://cispa.de/en
About CISPA
