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Job Information
Organisation/Company: Universidade de Coimbra
Department: Divisão de Projetos e Atividades (Bolsas)
Research Field: Engineering » Other
Researcher Profile: First Stage Researcher (R1)
Positions: Bachelor Positions
Application Deadline: 19 Aug 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon)
Country: Portugal
Type of Contract: Temporary
Job Status: Full-time
Hours Per Week: 35
Offer Starting Date: 6 Aug 2026
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?: Not funded by a EU programme
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?: No
Offer Description
The University of Coimbra opens a call for the assignment of a research grant, with one position(s), under the project Research and Pilot Implementation of Resilient and Secure Architectures for Core Network Services (DNS/DHCP).
The call is governed by this Notice of Opening, the University of Coimbra Research Grant Regulations (RBI-UC), subsidiarily by the Research Grant Regulations of the Foundation for Science and Technology (RBI-FCT), by the Research Fellow Statute (EBI), by the Norms for Grant Assignment and Management within R&D Projects, by the Code of Administrative Procedure (CPA), all in their current wording, and by other applicable national and community legislation.
Procedure Reference: IT137-26-345
I - Legal admission requirements
I.I - Grant Recipients:
Graduates in the scientific area of Informatics Engineering, enrolled in a master’s degree, in the scientific area of Informatics Engineering.
I.II - Ineligible candidates:
Candidates who have already benefited from two research grant contracts with UC in the condition of being enrolled in a master's degree, regardless of whether each contract has reached the maximum legally permitted duration.
I.III - Eligible for grant assignment if meeting the requirements:
- a) Portuguese nationals or nationals of other EU Member States
- b) Nationals of third countries
- c) Stateless persons
- d) Beneficiaries of political refugee status
II - Grant location: Department of Informatics Engineering, University of Coimbra
III- Scientific supervision/coordination of the grant: David Alejandro Perez Abreu
IV - Work Plan / Goals to be achieved: Analyze the state of the art and the latest security protocols applicable to network service architectures (DNS and DHCP). Design and investigate a high-availability (HA) architecture with functional segregation, ensuring advanced protection mechanisms and data integrity through DNSSEC. Develop a pilot infrastructure, integrating supporting databases, and validate dynamic provisioning methods through scripting and API-based automation. Evaluate monitoring and centralized management methodologies, measuring gains in operational efficiency and assessing the robustness of the implemented topology against failures and service latency.
Work Plan
- Study the state of the art in resilient core services. Conduct a comprehensive assessment of the current DEI-UC architecture and design the target topology, leveraging Infrastructure as Code (IaC) tools (e.g., Ansible/Terraform).
- Install and configure a DNS solution based on Bind9 (or an equivalent solution) in a laboratory/test environment running Linux. Investigate and test Split Horizon configurations and DNSSEC security validations.
- Implement the Kea DHCP service (or an equivalent solution) with a database backend. Develop APIs for migrating static data and test HA and failover algorithms.
- Integrate monitoring solutions. Perform stress tests, validate fault-tolerance mechanisms, and collect metrics (latency, energy efficiency, and security).
- Prepare the technical documentation reporting the work carried out within the scope of the scholarship/research scholarship.
V - Initial grant duration: 6 months
V.I - Renewal Possibility: Possibily renewable
VI - Funding and financial conditions of the grant
VI.I - Monthly grant amount (paid by bank transfer at the end of each month): 1098,98€
VI.II - Other financial components of the grant: N/A.
VI.III - In addition to the above amounts, voluntary social security (SSV) is included when the grant has a duration of six months or more, corresponding to the first level, if the candidate opts for it, as well as mandatory personal accident insurance.
VI.IV - Funding: The grant(s) assigned under this call will be funded by own revenue.
VI.V - Information and publicity about the funding: N/A.
VII - Selection Methods
Evaluation of the academic record (AR) and Interview (I)
VII.I - AR - In the evaluation of the academic record, the candidates' academic performance will be assessed according to the following weights and criteria:
- Criterion 1 – Graduation average.
- Criterion 2 - Scientific and Technical Merit of the Curriculum Vitae.
VII.II- I – In the evaluation of the interview, candidates' performance will be assessed according to the following weights and criteria:
- Criterion 1 - Demonstrated motivation for research tasks and the adoption of new technologies.
- Criterion 2 - Conceptual proficiency in network administration (Linux, Bind9, DHCP), security, and automation approaches (DevOps and Infrastructure as Code).
VII.III- The evaluation of the criteria and the final classification will be based on a scale from 0 to 100, with scores rounded to the nearest hundredth, applying the following formulas:
- AR: criterion 1 * (50%) + criterion 2 * (50%) = X
- I: criterion 1 * (50%) + criterion 2 * (50%) = X
- Final Classification (FC): AR * (40%) + I * (60%) = X
VII.IV - All candidates who meet the admission requirements are subject to the academic record evaluation, carried out according to the criteria and weights defined in VII.I.
VII.V - Candidates who score below 50 in any selection method will be excluded, and subsequent methods, if any, will not apply to them. Candidates who are duly notified but fail to attend the interview (if applicable) or withdraw at any stage will also be excluded.
VII.VI - All candidates who score above 50 in the AR will proceed to the next method, i.e., the interview.
VII.VII - Tie-breaking criteria: In the event of a tie in the rankings, candidates will be ordered in descending order as follows:
- a) Based on the score obtained in the first method applied;
- b) Based on the score of their academic qualifications.
VII.VIII - All provisional and final jury decisions must be justified, recorded in minutes, and published on https://apply.uc.pt/.
VII.IX - Jury Composition:
President: David Alejandro Perez Abreu
Effective Members: António José Nunes Mendes and Tiago Filipe dos Santos Martins
Alternate Members: João Nuno Lopes Barata and Catarina Helena Branco Simões da Silva
VII.X - Selection reserve list: N/A.
VIII- Application Submission
Candidates must access and register on the electronic platform https://apply.uc.pt/ to submit their application, selecting the procedure to which they wish to apply.
Documents uploaded for the application must be in portable document format (PDF).
Applications are submitted by completing the sections available in the electronic platform "Apply UC" under "My Application."
VIII.I- Mandatory documents to attach when applying:
- Curriculum Vitae, duly updated, dated, and signed;
- Copy of academic degree certificates.
a) If the possession of a degree is a requirement for the grant, candidates holding a degree obtained abroad must, by the end of the application period, provide proof of recognition or evidence that it has been requested, as per Decree-Law No. 66/2018 of August 16. Failure to present degree recognition at the time of contract signing, as per the RBI-UC, will result in exclusion.
b) If duly justified, documents proving the possession of academic degrees and diplomas, or their recognition, may be waived at the application stage and replaced by a candidate's sworn statement. However, until the grant agreement stage, the respective proofs must be submitted under penalty of exclusion.
c) Proof of enrollment in a degree or non-degree course may be waived at the application stage and replaced by a sworn statement from the candidate. However, the required proof must be submitted by the grant agreement stage under penalty of exclusion.
- Whenever possible, documentation proving prior grant benefits should also be attached to the application.
VIII.II- Other documents to attach when applying:
- Any other elements the candidate considers relevant.
- Motivation Letter.
- Bachelor's degree academic transcript.
VIII.III - All application documents must be submitted in Portuguese and/or English. When the originals are in another language, a translation into one of these languages must be provided.
VIII.IV - Applications that are not properly completed or do not meet the admission criteria defined in the applicable legislation and this notice will not be accepted.
VIII.V - No documents required for the application may be submitted after the application deadline.
VIII.VI - Without prejudice to the penal provisions of the law, false statements made by candidates or grant holders regarding relevant matters for the grant award or renewal, or for the evaluation of its progress, will result in its cancellation.
IX – Application deadline
06/08/2026 to 19/08/2026
X - Activity Regime
The grant does not create or constitute a legal-labor relationship. It is carried out under an exclusive dedication regime, and the grantee is awarded the Research Grantee Status, as stipulated in the EBI and the RBI-UC.
XI - Notification of Candidates
All notifications will be made through the electronic platform Apply UC, under the terms of subparagraph c) of paragraph 1 and subparagraph b) of paragraph 2 of Article 112 of the CPA and Article 22 of the RBI-UC. The notifications will take effect after being made, as provided in Article 113 of the CPA.
XII
Under Articles 121 and 122 of the CPA and Article 22 of the RBI-UC, candidates may, if they wish, submit comments regarding the jury's decisions within 10 business days, through the "Audiência dos Interessados" option in the platform's procedure section.
XIII
Candidates may also submit a complaint within 15 business days or an appeal to the UC's highest-ranking official within 30 business days, both following the respective notification, under Articles 191 and 192 of the CPA.
XIV
Selected candidates must declare in writing, within five business days of notification, their acceptance of the grant and confirm that they meet the requirements to accept the proposed start date of the grant contract. Unless a justifiable reason is provided, failure to provide this declaration within the stipulated time will be considered a renunciation of the grant. In case of renunciation or withdrawal by the selected candidate, the next candidate on the final classification list will be notified.
XV
The full competition process can be consulted by candidates, subject to prior scheduling, by sending an email to the Human Resources Management Service at: sgrh@uc.pt.
XVI
In compliance with subparagraph h) of Article 9 of the Constitution, the University of Coimbra, as an employer, actively promotes a policy of equal opportunities between men and women in terms of employment access and career progression, ensuring that any form of discrimination is strictly avoided. It encourages underrepresented minorities in each area to apply.
Accordingly, no one may be privileged, benefited, disadvantaged, or deprived of any right or exempted from any duty on the grounds of ancestry, age, sexual orientation, gender, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced work capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, place of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs, or trade union membership.
The University of Coimbra also promotes measures to facilitate the balance between professional, family, and personal life, recognizing the efforts of its employees and fostering motivation.
XVII
The grantee must submit annual activity reports for each renewal and at the end of the grant contract, as stipulated in Article 7 of the RBI-UC, subject to an opinion issued by the respective supervisor(s). The report models, performance evaluation criteria, and the grant contract model are those approved under the University of Coimbra's Research Grant Regulations.
Where to apply
Website: https://apply.uc.pt
Requirements
Research Field: Engineering » Other
Education Level: Bachelor Degree or equivalent
Work Location(s)
Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: Department of Informatics Engineering, Faculty of Science and Technology of the University of Coimbra
Country: Portugal
Contact
City: Coimbra
Website: https://www.uc.pt/administracao/dpa
Street: Rua Larga
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