With more than 16,000 students and 3,800 employees, the Technische Universität Braunschweig is one of Germany's leading institutes of technology. It stands for strategic and performance-oriented thinking and acting, relevant research, committed teaching, and the successful transfer of knowledge and technologies to the economy and society. We consistently advocate for family friendliness and equal opportunities.

Our research focuses are mobility, engineering for health, metrology, and city of the future. Strong engineering and natural sciences are our core disciplines. These are closely interconnected with economics, social and educational sciences and humanities.

Our campus is located in the midst of one of the most research-intensive regions in Europe. We work successfully together with over 20 research institutions in our neighborhood as we do with our international partner universities.

The research group Reliable System Software at the Institute for Operating Systems and Computer Networks at TU Braunschweig is looking for applicants for an PhD positions in the area of System Software. The positions are to be filled as soon as possible.

Research Associate / Postdoc / Doctoral Candidate (m/f/d) in the field of OS/DBMS Co-Design for the Cloud

(EG 13 TV-L, full-time)

The PhD candidates will conduct studies within the context of the Cumulus project. In collaboration with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), the project aims to deeply integrate an operating system kernel with a database management system, specifically focusing on the cloud as an execution environment. Since the cloud and the database-as-a-service model make custom OS kernels realistic, we investigate specialized architectures like Unikernels. By relying on a single address space and eliminating costly process isolation, we aim to eliminate system call overheads and provide direct hardware access. This allows us to revisit dated POSIX APIs and develop novel abstractions for high-performance cloud-native data processing systems. The following papers give more context and our vision:

• SIGMOD Conference A*
  Virtual-Memory Assisted Buffer Management

  Viktor Leis, Adnan Alhomssi, Tobias Ziegler, Yannick Loeck, Christian DietrichProceedings of the ACM SIGMOD/PODS International Conference on Management of DataACM2023.
  PDF 10.1145/3588687 [BibTex]

  🗙

  BibTex Entry

  @inproceedings{leis:23:sigmod,
  location = {New York, NY, USA},
  author = {Viktor Leis and Adnan Alhomssi and Tobias Ziegler and Yannick Loeck and Christian Dietrich},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the ACM SIGMOD/PODS International Conference on Management of Data},
  doi = {10.1145/3588687},
  entrysubtype = {Conference},
  location = {Seattle, WA, USA},
  month = {June},
  publisher = {ACM},
  title = {Virtual-Memory Assisted Buffer Management},
  year = {2023},
  }

  Close

• VLDB Conference A*
  Cloud-Native Database Systems and Unikernels: Reimagining OS Abstractions for Modern Hardware [Vision]

  Viktor Leis, Christian DietrichProceedings of the 50th International Conference on Very Large Data BasesVLDB Endowment2024Vision Paper.
  PDF Slides Raw Data 10.14778/3659437.3659462 [BibTex]

  🗙

  BibTex Entry

  @inproceedings{leis:24:vldb-vision,
  location = {Guangzhou, China},
  author = {Leis, Viktor and Dietrich, Christian},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 50th International Conference on Very Large Data Bases},
  doi = {10.14778/3659437.3659462},
  entrysubtype = {Conference},
  month = {August},
  note = {Vision Paper},
  publisher = {VLDB Endowment},
  title = {{Cloud-Native Database Systems and Unikernels: Reimagining OS Abstractions for Modern Hardware [Vision]}},
  year = {2024},
  }

  Close

In addition to gaining insights and having a lot of fun along the way, the goals of these studies are to advance the candidate's dissertation project and publish research results at top international conferences.

If you have already completed your PhD, the position can also be filled as a post-doctoral position.

Your Tasks

The following incomplete list is meant to provide an overview of the tasks for PhD candidates. In all tasks, you won’t be working alone but will receive strong support from the other members of the research group and Christian Dietrich.

Independent research within the research projects of the group. This includes:

• Planning concrete research projects
• Conducting literature reviews and analyzing the state of the art
• Developing suitable prototypes and conducting measurements
• Writing scientific papers
• Engaging with the scientific community (e.g., attending conferences)

Teaching activities within the courses offered by the group:

• Organizing and conducting courses
• Leading tutorials and seminars
• Answering students' questions
• Supervising Bachelor's and Master's theses.

Your Qualifications

• Academic Degree: University degree (M.Sc.) in computer science or an equivalent field.
• Expertise: Knowledge in at least one of the following areas: operating systems, system software, compilers.
• Programming Skills: Strong programming skills, especially in low-level languages (C, C++, Rust).
• Language Skills: Proficiency in German and English, suitable for teaching in German and writing scientific papers in English.
• Teamwork: Enjoy working in a group and a desire to collaborate with other researchers.
• Practical Orientation: Motivation to develop real-world systems.

We Offer

• Innovative Research Environment: Work in a dynamic and young research group, access to cutting-edge technologies, and networking with research partners from other universities.
• Participation in International Leading Research: Demonstrated by numerous international publications and involvement in a DFG priority program, the research group is at the forefront of technological advancements.
• Support for Your Dissertation: Intensive supervision of the research projects and publications, as well as guidance in the preparation of the final dissertation.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for professional and personal growth through workshops, seminars, and conferences. Mentoring student assistants provides a chance to develop leadership skills.
• Academic Networking: Integration into a broad network of scientists. Attending conferences allows you to build your own professional network.
• Personal Benefits: Competitive compensation (according to TVL-E13), flexible working hours, and access to additional university resources (e.g., library, sports facilities, etc.).

Further notes

We welcome applicants of all nationalities. At the same time, we encourage people with severe disabilities to apply. Applications from severely disabled persons will be given preference if they are equally qualified. Please attach a proof of disability to your application. We are also working on the fulfilment of the Central Equality Plan based on the Lower Saxony Equal Rights Act (Niedersächsisches Gleichberechtigungsgesetz—NGG) and strive to reduce under-representation in all areas and positions as defined by the NGG. Therefore, applications from women are particularly welcome in this case.

The personal data will be stored for the purpose of processing the application. By submitting your application, you agree that your data may be stored and processed electronically for application purposes in compliance with the provisions of data protection law. Further information on data protection can be found in our data protection regulations at https://www.tu-braunschweig.de/datenschutzerklaerung-bewerbungen . Application costs cannot be reimbursed.

Questions, Applications

For more information, please call Prof. Christian Dietrich on +49 (0) 531 391-3294 or via mail: christian.dietrich@tu-braunschweig.de.

Please prepare your application in German or English as a single PDF document consisting of the following:

• Cover letter (including a brief description of your motivation),
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of publications, awards, etc.,
• Academic records (grades from your previous studies, including information on the grading scale),.
• Proof of your German language proficiency, if German is not your native language,
• If you already hold a PhD, please include a research statement and future plans.

The deadline for the application is January 15th, 2026.