Public notice for one research grant Refª BI|2026/882 Projet SALVE – refª 2024.14936.PEX funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - Application submission from 23-Mar-2026 to 31-Dec 2026 -

Organisation/Company

INESC ID

Research Field

Engineering » Computer engineering

Researcher Profile

First Stage Researcher (R1)

Positions

Bachelor Positions

Application Deadline

31 Dec 2026 - 23:59 (Europe/Lisbon)

Country

Portugal

Type of Contract

Not Applicable

Job Status

Not Applicable

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by a EU programme

Reference Number

BI|2026/882 - Projet SALVE – refª 2024.14936.PEX

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Public notice for one research grant Refª BI|2026/882

Projet  SALVE  – refª  2024.14936.PEX

funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia 

- Application submission from 23-Mar-2026 to 31-Dec 2026 -

WHO WE ARE

INESC-ID (www.inesc-id.pt ) , “Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores: Investigação e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa” is a Research and Development and Innovation Organization (R&D+i)) in the fields of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering. 

INESC-ID’s research impact is focused on four Thematic Lines 

Energy transition

Life and health technology

Security and privacy.

Societal digital transformation.

INESC-ID promotes cooperation between academia and industry by addressing research on daily life issues, such as healthcare, space, mobility, human language technologies, agri-food, industry 4.0, and smart grids. This high level of knowledge transfer is achieved through both competitive research projects and direct contracted research. Therefore, public and private entities have access to a pool of knowledge, resources and services provided through the unique competencies available at the institution.

INESC ID has a strong international academic environment and inclusive work environment.

ONE (1) research grant for students with BSc degree with reference number BI|2026/882 under the scope of the Projet SALVE: Securing Artificial Language Models Against Vulnerability Encoding (2024.14936.PEX),  funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, is available under the following conditions:

OBJECTIVES | FUNCTIONS 

This task aims to develop an automated and scalable framework for the continuous improvement of security-aware Large Language Models (LLMs), integrating dataset expansion, evaluation, incremental fine-tuning, and security-aware code generation validation. The student will build an integrated pipeline that reuses artifacts developed in previous tasks and ensures systematic model improvement over time. The work plan includes:

• Implement mechanisms to collect and track secure and insecure JavaScript code from open-source repositories.
• Identify and label security-related commits using diff-based analysis.
• Integrate synthetic data generation (e.g., AST-based vulnerability injection) to increase dataset diversity.

• Implement automated evaluation of security classification performance on expanded datasets.
• Measure classification accuracy, precision, recall, and robustness over time.
• Track performance differentials across evaluation cycles.

• Implement periodic fine-tuning of selected models using curated secure–insecure code pairs.
• Integrate adaptive feedback mechanisms based on misclassification analysis.
• Ensure reproducibility and version control of model updates.

• Integrate static analysis tools (e.g., Semgrep, CodeQL) to assess generated code.
• Measure vulnerability density (e.g., vulnerabilities per 100 lines of code).
• Compare improvements across pipeline iterations.

• Conduct two full validation cycles in the final four months.
• Measure improvements in:
• Security classification accuracy
• Robustness to adversarial modifications
• Reduction of AI-generated vulnerabilities

All artifacts will be released as open-source and documented for reproducibility. The selected candidate will be integrated into a research team with established expertise in software security, program analysis, and AI-driven code intelligence, with a track record of collaboration with leading technology companies and publications in top-tier international conferences and journals.

BINDING LEGISLATION 

Law 40/2004 of 18th of August (Scientific Research Fellow Status) in its current wording.

https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/legislacao-consolidada/lei/2004-58216179

Regulations for Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology in force

https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/regulamento/950-2019-127238533

INESC-ID Lisboa Grant Regulations in force

https://www.inesc-id.pt/scholarship-regulations/

The fellowship contract is awarded on an exclusive dedication basis – art. 5 of Scientific Research Fellow Status and art. 16 of Regulations for Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology.

DURATION

SIX (6) months, starting in February 2027, renewable subject to suitable performance within the period of the project, not exceeding the maximum period set by FCT for such grants.

RENEWALL

This scholarship will not be renewable.

MONTHLY AMOUNT

The monthly amount of the grant is 1040.98€  according to the “Regulations for Research Grants of the Foundation for Science and Technology” in force.

The payment will be made through a monthly bank transfer to a portuguese bank account, held by the grantee.

https://www.fct.pt/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Tabela_valores_SMM_2025.pdf  

SCIENTIFIC SUPERVISION

The activity will be supervised by :

• Rui Abreu , Full Professor at FEUP and Researcher at INESC ID.
• Sofia Reis, Invited Professor at FEUP

WORKPLACE

- INESC ID - Headquarters Rua Alves Redol, 9, 1000-029 Lisboa 

- INESC-ID - Taguspark Avenida Professor Cavaco Silva, Edifício IST 2744-016 Porto Salvo 

- INESC-ID Energia IST - Departamento de Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores, Área de Energia, Av. Rovisco Pais 1049-001 Lisboa

ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS

Any national, foreign and stateless candidate(s) holding a BSc degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, or Cybersecurity, or closely related fields, and with a suitable scientific and professional curriculum may apply. 

The candidate(s) must be enrolled in a

MSc program - art. 6º, n.4 b)

https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/regulamento/950-2019-127238533

or

Non-degree programme – art. 6º, n. 4 a) 

https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/regulamento/950-2019-127238533

The applicants are required to have proficiency in Portuguese and English, both written and spoken, as well as being enthusiastic, proactive, collaborative and able to work individually and as a team.

Preferential factors: 

Preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate one or more of the following:

• Experience building automated ML or data pipelines.
• Experience with version control, reproducibility, and experiment tracking.
• Familiarity with LLM fine-tuning workflows (e.g., Hugging Face, PEFT).
• Experience working with open-source repositories and mining software data.
• Familiarity with static analysis tools (e.g., Semgrep, CodeQL).
• Experience in software security or vulnerability detection.
• Strong software engineering practices and clean code development.

EVALUATION CRITERIA 

The selection will be based on the following criteria:

Evaluation of academic performance and/or relevant professional experience in machine learning, software engineering, or cybersecurity.

Demonstrated experience implementing structured, scalable, or automated software systems. Evidence of experience with neural networks, LLMs, or training workflows.

Demonstrated ability to conduct controlled experiments and build reproducible workflows.

Evidence of structured development, version control usage, and clean implementation.

Assessment of understanding of continuous learning systems and alignment with long-term security-aware AI goals.

The members of the evaluation panel assign a classification to each of the candidates on a scale of 0 to 100 points, ranking the candidates according to their classification consisting on the sum of the partial classifications assigned in each evaluation criterion, and considering the weighting factor given to each parameter. In this process abstentions are not allowed.

In the event of a tie among candidates with the same highest evaluation score, the Evaluation Panel reserves the right to conduct interviews to have a more objective assessment of specific criteria. 

If an interview is conducted, the punctuation proposed by the evaluation panel is obtained by assigning a weighting factor of 80% to the CV, and a weighting factor of 20% to the interview.

Additionally, the evaluation panel retains the discretion to withhold the scholarship if the candidates fail to fulfil the stipulated requirements.

The evaluation panel may also decide not to assign the scholarship, if none of candidates meets the required conditions.

If the requirements mentioned above are not fulfilled, the evaluation panel may choose not to select a candidate.

Candidates with an average score below 70, are not recommended for hiring

Minutes of the evaluation panel meeting are drawn up with a summary of what has taken place in the meeting, as well as the votes emitted by the jury, being available to the candidates whenever requested.

EVALUATION PANEL 

Jury

Name

Professional Status

Institutions

President

Miguel Pupo Correia

Researcher / Full Professor

INESC-ID / Tecnico, ULisboa

Member

Nuno Santos

Researcher / Associate Professor

INESC-ID / Tecnico, ULisboa

Member

João F. Ferreira

Researcher / Associate Professor

INESC-ID / FEUP

Susbtitute Member

José Fragoso Santos

Researcher / Assistant Professor

INESC-ID / Tecnico, ULisboa

Susbtitute Member

Rui Abreu

Researcher / Full Professor

INESC-ID / FEUP

APPLICATION 

The application and supporting documents must be submitted via email to bolsas@inesc-id.pt .

The application email should clearly state the reference of the grant on the subject. 

Refª BI|2026/882 - Projet SALVE – refª  2024.14936.PEX

Applications without the reference of the grant will not be considered 

The candidate should clearly state his / her consent so that the communications and notifications in the context of this call can take place to the electronic address bolsas@inesc-id.pt .

The application and supporting documents may be submitted in Portuguese or English, although the President of the evaluation panel when a member of the evaluation panel is a non-native Portuguese speaker, may request that, within a reasonable time, the candidate translates into English a document previously presented in Portuguese.

Candidates who submit their application incorrectly or who do not prove the requirements required in this public notice are excluded from admission. In case of doubt, the evaluation panel may demand any candidate to present documents proving those statements.

False statements by the candidates will be punished according to the law.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS 

The supporting documents listed below must be presented in pdf form. 

Supporting documents presented in another format will not be considered by the evaluation panel.

Addressed to the Evaluation Panel, including full name, and contact address, including email address and telephone.;

It is mandatory for the approval of the fellowship contract that the selected candidate presents a single copy of the official academic degree certificate, required in education level.

In the application submission, the candidates may replace the proof of enrolment by a declaration of honour, stating that they are/will be enrolled in the program required ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS

It is mandatory for the approval of the fellowship, that the selected candidate present the official proof of enrolment required in the ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS .

NOTIFICATION, PRIOR HEARING, COMPLAIN AND APPEAL DEADLINES 

The admitted and excluded candidates will be notified by email of the final ranking list.

After being notified, all candidates have 10 working days to submit a formal rebuttal. After that period, the evaluation panel notifies the candidates of the final report.

Excluded candidates may complain about the evaluation panel final report for 15 working days after notification or appeal to the evaluation panel decision to the INESC ID Board of Directors for 30 working days, after notification.

Non-discrimination and equal access policy

INESC-ID actively promotes a policy of non-discrimination and equal access, so that no candidate can be privileged, benefited, disadvantaged or deprived of any right or exemption from any duty owing, in particular, to ancestry, age, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, economic situation, education, social origin or condition, genetic heritage, reduced working capacity, disability, chronic illness, nationality, ethnic origin or race, territory of origin, language, religion, political or ideological beliefs and trade union membership.

Under the terms of D.L. No. 29/2001, of February 3, a disabled candidate has a preference when in equal classification, which prevails over any other legal preference. Candidates must declare on the application form their respective degree of disability, the type of disability and the means of communication / expression to be used in the selection process, under the terms of the aforementioned diploma.

E-mail

bolsas@inesc-id.pt

Research Field

Engineering » Computer engineering

Education Level

Bachelor Degree or equivalent

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

INESC ID

Country

Portugal

State/Province

Lisbon

City

Lisbon

Postal Code

1000-029

Street

Rua Alves Redol, 9

Geofield

State/Province

Lisboa

City

Lisboa

Website

http://www.inesc-id.pt

Street

Rua Alves Redol, 9

Postal Code

1000-029

E-Mail

bolsas@inesc-id.pt

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