General PhD Call: Summer 2026

Maximiliane Windl

RA 6:Empirical & Behavioural Security

I am looking for highly motivated PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to join my group at the intersection of privacy and human-computer interaction. Together, we explore how intelligent environments can respect human values and evolve responsibly alongside their users. Our research investigates how people perceive privacy risks in emerging technologies, how privacy decisions can be responsibly automated, how tangible privacy mechanisms can empower users, and how research methods for usable privacy can be advanced.

RA 1: Algorithmic Foundations & Cryptography

Research explores algorithmic techniques for solving hard computational problems, particularly on graphs, to advance theoretical foundations and practical applications.

RA 2:Trustworthy Information Processing

Developing secure and privacy-friendly data processing methods is crucial for data-driven ecosystems. This research area focuses on algorithmic sanitization, end-user privacy assessment, and handling unstructured datasets.

RA 3:Reliable Security Guarantees

Formal methods aim to automate secure system analysis and construction, bridging gaps in abstract system models. This includes rigorous security guarantees, runtime monitoring, design-time analysis, and building secure large-scale systems.

RA 4:Threat Detection & Defenses

Threat analysis of complex IT systems is needed to develop detection mechanisms for known and emerging threats. These mechanisms should be able to detect critical incidents while minimizing false alarms to avoid user disregard.

RA 5:Secure Connected & Mobile Systems

Next-generation secure networking and system architectures are needed for interconnected systems. This research area focuses on secure, dependable, and privacy-preserving design for connected and mobile systems.

RA 6:Empirical & Behavioural Security

Research focuses on measuring threats at scale, detecting vulnerabilities in web applications, and exploring secure and private technology design for users and developers.

What We Offer:

• Competitive full time-gross base salary for E13 according to the scale of the TVöD (German Federal Employment Agreement)
• Comprehensive benefits package that includes health insurance coverage, 30 days of paid vacation and a robust pension scheme.
• Possibilities for personal and professional growth, encompassing language classes, research support, as well as extracurricular and social activities
• Our onboarding team will provide you with all the necessary support for a seamless and successful start to your journey with us
• We maintain a trustworthy, inclusive, and safe space and are looking for curious and creative new colleagues willing to learn & grow in an enjoyable and friendly team atmosphere.

What We Expect:

• You have (or soon to finish) a Master’s degree from a research-oriented institution of higher education in a subject relevant to our research.

• You have completed somecoursework on topics related to the faculty's research area during their studies and bring a solid base knowledge around the it.

• Excellent English, but no German? CISPA is an international research institute. Knowing German is really not necessary, although daily life is a bit smoother if you speak a few words and if you want to learn German, we offer free courses.

Working at CISPA:

• We promote a flat hierarchy that encourages working together as a cohesive team and contributing one’s perspectives and ideas.

• We offer an excellent research environment with close individual supervision, worldwide collaborations, and with significant funding for travel and equipment.

• Our locations are in Saarbrücken and St. Ingbert, in the Saarland region with international flair (e.g., an International School and distinguished cuisine influenced by the proximity to the French border). Saarland is also known for its green spaces, parks and proximity to nature, providing opportunities for relaxation and outdoor activities.

CISPA is committed to increasing the representation of women, minorities, and individuals with disability in Computer Science. In accordance with the Equal Opportunity Plan, CISPA aims at increasing the number of women in Computer Science, and explicitly encourages women to apply. Applications of severely disabled candidates with equivalent qualifications will be given priority. In general, we welcome applications regardless of gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion/belief, disability, age, sexual orientation and identity.

Application Documents:

• CV
• Cover Letter
• (Bachelor's +) Master's Transcript
• Recommendation Letter

CISPA Helmholtz Center for Information Security is a German national Science Institution within the Helmholtz Association and provides a unique work environment that offers the advantage of a university department and a research laboratory alike. CISPA's mission is to rethink the digitized world of the future from the ground on up an make it safer through innovative cutting-edge research. CISPA is committed to the highest international academic standards. We offer a world-class research environment that grants extensive resources to a wide range of researchers and constitutes an attractive destination for the best talents and scientists from all countries. CISPA provides a highly international and diverse working environment, currently hosting researchers of over 40 nationalities.

CISPA headquarter is located in Saarbrücken, in the tri-border area of Germany, France and Luxembourg. The CISPA campus is located close to Saarland University, known for its excellence in Computer Science & Cybersecurity programs; the Max Planck Institute for Informatics and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems; the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI); and more.