Ph.D students and a Postdoc in zero-knowledge (University of Tartu, Estonia).
The zero-knowledge group, a subgroup of the cryptography group, at the Institute of Computer Science of the University of Tartu, seeks up to 3 Ph.D. students and one postdoc (up to three persons in total) on the topic of contemporary zero-knowledge proofs and zk-SNARKs. The existing zero-knowledge group comprises of Helger Lipmaa, Matteo Campanelli (part-time position), Janno Siim, Roberto Parisella, and Ph.D students. We have more people working in cryptography. According to CSRanking, our cryptography group (without Campanelli) ranks number 16 in the world when counting 2024-2025 papers in Eurocrypt and Crypto. We have two accepted papers to Eurocrypt 2026.
Our current research interests include the provable security of zk-SNARKs (including stronger security notions and more realistic cryptographic assumptions), the design of pairing-based, code-based, and lattice-based zk-SNARKs and related primitives (polynomial commitment schemes, folding schemes, etc), and the design of zk-SNARKs for applications such as zkVM and zkML. We collaborate actively with local groups on coding theory and machine learning to further our aims. While primarily focused on academic publishing in top conferences, we are interested in collaborating with ZK companies and staying abreast of developments in practice.
The Ph.D. student must have an MSc or equivalent by this spring, a strong background in mathematics and/or theoretical computer science, and prior background in cryptography. For postdoc candidates, we especially welcome those with a background in the theoretical aspects of proof systems, zk-SNARKs (pairing-based, hash-based, or lattice-based), or applications such as zkML. We expect the postdoc candidate to have published a few papers at IACR conferences or venues of equivalent renown. However, we welcome all exceptional candidates. Some positions will be filled only when we receive strong candidates.
The postdoc position starts on August 1, 2026, or later and lasts 2-4 years, depending on the candidate and negotiations. The Ph.D. position starts on September 1, 2026, and lasts four years. The candidates may later seek further employment, but this is not guaranteed. The PhD students will be supervised by either Helger Lipmaa or Janno Siim (or both), with possible help from Matteo Campanelli and Roberto Parisella.
About Estonia. Estonia is part of Northern Europe but shares many similarities with German culture. It is part of the EU and NATO. The country ranks highly on the Press Freedom Index and the Democracy Index. Estonia is well-known to be an "IT-country", with early adoption of IT at the state level and many IT companies (including Wise, Bolt, Pipedrive, etc.).
About Tartu. Tartu is a small university town. The University of Tartu is a research university with a strong computer science department. While the town is small, it is vibrant with student life.
About the department. The university and the department have many foreign faculty members and graduate students. The department is located in a modern building in the center of Tartu. The department has strong research groups in many areas, ranging from cryptography and coding theory to machine learning and information systems.
Salaries. Our salaries are competitive with living costs: they are higher than in Southern Europe in absolute terms, while our costs are significantly lower than in Northern Europe. A postdoc will receive around 2,600 euros (depending on qualifications) per month after taxes. A Ph.D. student will receive approximately 1,900 euros per month after taxes. For comparison, the rent for a modern, all-amenities 1-bedroom apartment in the city center is less than 600 euros a month, and cheaper options are available. In addition, we offer benefits like guaranteed travel money.
Our group has more openings in lattice-based cryptography and PQ cryptography, see here and here for more information.
To apply for the positions, submit all documents here (NB! Email submission do not count but contact by email if the application was not successful for some technical reason)
Contact Helger Lipmaa for additional questions
University of Tartu
helger dot lipmaa at gmail dot com
Closing date (job): 2026-04-09