About the role
and restricted user control over shared data. The project investigates alternative approaches that enable organizations and individuals to collaborate while preserving their autonomy, privacy, and control over their data and tools.
The successful candidate will join the LORELEY research team at the Inria Centre at the University of Lorraine in Nancy. They will work at the intersection of academic research and software engineering, collaborating closely with researchers, PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and engineers from the PILOT consortium.
The position offers the opportunity to contribute to cutting-edge research on distributed collaborative systems and to transform scientific results into open-source software components, integrated prototypes, and demonstrators.
Mission confiée
The Research Engineer will contribute primarily to two complementary research axes of PILOT:
- Axis 2 – Open Technical Frameworks and Protocols for Long-Term Collaboration, which develops new algorithms, protocols, and software components for secure, distributed, and interoperable collaborative systems.
- Axis 4 – Actionable Guidelines and Demonstrators for Long-Term Collaboration, which aims to translate research outcomes into practical solutions, demonstrators, technical guidelines, and reusable software artifacts supporting future forms of collaboration.
The main mission will be to design, implement, integrate, and evaluate research prototypes of distributed and secure collaborative applications, working closely with the PhD students and postdoctoral researchers developing the underlying algorithms and protocols.
The Research Engineer will also contribute to transforming these individual research prototypes into more comprehensive demonstrators illustrating how different technologies can be combined to support real-world collaborative scenarios.
An important part of the position will involve the development and maintenance of an open-source repository of PILOT software components, prototypes, and demonstrators, together with their technical documentation, deployment instructions, and associated use cases. This repository will contribute to the broader PILOT platform, which brings together research findings, collaborative practices, technical components, and guidelines for long-term collaboration.
The position therefore combines hands-on software development, research prototyping, system integration, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Principales activités
The Research Engineer will contribute to the development, integration, and dissemination of technologies supporting secure, interoperable, and long-term collaboration, with a particular focus on Axes 2 and 4 of PILOT.
The main responsibilities will include
- Development of research prototypes (Axis 2): Work closely with PhD students, postdoctoral researchers, and other consortium members to implement and evaluate novel technologies for distributed collaborative systems, including collaborative editing, data synchronization, decentralized architectures, interoperability, and security.
- Integration and development of demonstrators (Axis 4): Combine research prototypes into functional demonstrators illustrating new forms of long-term collaboration, particularly across organizational boundaries and in application domains studied within PILOT.
- Development and maintenance of the PILOT technical repository: Organize, document, and maintain open-source software components, prototypes, and demonstrators, ensuring their accessibility, reusability, and sustainability.
- Evaluation and validation: Contribute to the technical evaluation of developed solutions and, in collaboration with CSCW and HCI researchers, assess their suitability for real-world collaborative practices.
- Scientific collaboration and dissemination: Collaborate with PILOT partners and contribute to technical documentation, project deliverables, presentations, and dissemination activities.
Compétences
The position requires solid programming and software engineering skills, together with an interest in distributed systems, collaborative applications, and security. Experience in developing research prototypes, integrating software components, or contributing to open-source projects would be an advantage.
Candidates should be able to work independently while collaborating effectively with researchers, engineers, and partners from different disciplines. Curiosity, initiative, adaptability, and good communication skills are particularly valued.
Strong written and spoken English is expected. Knowledge of French would be an advantage but is not mandatory.
Avantages
Subsidized meals
Partial reimbursement of public transport costs
Leave: 7 weeks of annual leave + 10 extra days off due to RTT (statutory reduction in working hours) + possibility of exceptional leave (sick children, moving home, etc.)
Possibility of teleworking and flexible organization of working hours
Professional equipment available (videoconferencing, loan of computer equipment, etc.)
Social, cultural and sports events and activities
Access to vocational training
Social security coverage
Rémunération
From €2,692 gross per month, depending on
qualifications
and experience
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