Postdoctoral position in Software Design and Architecture in the era of AI

Blekinge Institute of Technology is a place of curiosity and ingenuity with a campus in the middle of the Blekinge archipelago. Here we offer education from undergraduate to doctoral level and conduct world-class applied research. We change and make a difference. Do you want to become one of us?

The Department of Software Engineering consists of about 50 researchers and teachers from 20 countries. Our tradition in software engineering traces back to 1990 when we pioneered Sweden’s first academic education in the software engineering area in cooperation with Ericsson. The department’s research and education environment, SERL Sweden – the Software Engineering Research and Education Lab, has since then expanded into a world-leading research environment in empirical software engineering.

You are expected to explore both software architecture and software design in the era of artificial intelligence, addressing both how AI can support engineering practices (AI4SE) and how the integration of AI components transforms the nature of software systems (SE4AI). From an architectural perspective, the research investigates how the inclusion of AI elements—such as retrainable ML models, LLMs and RAG modules challenges conventional architectural styles, architecture evaluation methods, and governance models, requiring new approaches for modularity, decoupling, versioning, deployment, and lifecycle management. At the same time, the project delves into software design concerns, focusing on the internal structure and evolution of AI-enabled components themselves, including the design of retrainable pipelines, model-wrapping services, LLM prompting logic, data pre/post-processing components, and explainability hooks.

As a postdoctoral researcher, you will be a key member of the research team and work closely with both industry and academic partners. Your work will include:

• Investigate how the integration of AI components such as LLMs, retrainable ML models, and RAG modules impacts software architecture, including implications for modularity, lifecycle management, and architectural evaluation methods.
• Study how AI alters software design principles and patterns, focusing on the internal structure and evolution of AI-enabled components, including prompting logic, data transformation flows, retraining mechanisms, and explainability scaffolding.
• Analyze the interaction between architectural decisions and design-level tradeoffs in AI-intensive systems, addressing issues such as non-determinism, continuous data dependencies, testability, and maintainability.
• Different strategies for evaluating architectures, including but not limited to simulation, best-practice pattern evaluations and testing, inventing and utilizing evidence and measurements to evaluate and compare architectural solutions.
• Publishing research findings in top-tier conferences and journals, and contributing to industrially relevant research in software engineering.

For this position, we are looking for a candidate with a background in software engineering, software architectures, data analysis, and artificial intelligence.

Up to 20% of the total work time may be related to other tasks than research, such as teaching and supervision of doctoral students. The applicant is expected to actively participate in the department’s research and educational activities.

Eligible to be employed as a postdoctor is a person who has been awarded a doctoral degree or has a foreign degree assessed to be equivalent to a doctoral degree. This requirement must be met at the latest at the time when the employment decision is made.

Preference should be given to applicants who have been awarded their doctoral degree at most three years before the application deadline for employment. Applicants who have been awarded their degree earlier can be considered for employment if special reasons exist, such as leave due to illness, parental leave or other similar circumstances.

Eligibility requirements and assessment criteria are described in detail in the “Guidelines for employment and promotion of teachers and appointment to docent,” available in Section “Instructions to applicants” at: https://www.bth.se/eng/about-bth/vacancies

In addition to the requirements described in the work description, eligibility requirements, and assessment criteria for the position, the following degrees, competencies, and experiences are considered meriting:

• Experience with research in close collaboration with industrial partners.
• Technical knowledge and applied experience in modern AI (including GenAI/LLMs) and software engineering.
• Familiarity with software development workflows, tools, and practices (e.g., IDEs, CI/CD, testing, documentation).
• Publications in highly ranked international conferences or journals.
• Experience in empirical software engineering, AI prototyping, or human-AI interaction studies.
• Proficiency in written and oral communication in English.

Great importance is placed on strong interpersonal skills and a strong work ethic.

Place of employment: Karlskrona.

Employment level: 100%.

Commencement: To be agreed.

Duration: Temporary employment for 2–3 years, with the possibility of extension. The total period of employment must not exceed three years.

Application deadline: 23 March, 2026.

You apply online through our recruitment system by clicking on the “apply” button below.

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Instructions to applicants can be found at https://www.bth.se/english/about-bth/work-at-bth/vacancies. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the advertisement and instructions.

In case of different interpretations of the English and Swedish versions of this announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

Blekinge Institute of Technology, BTH, embraces diversity and welcomes applicants with varying backgrounds and experiences.
We work actively to take advantage of the qualities that diversity and an even gender distribution contribute to our operations.

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