PhD Candidate in Privacy-Preserving Digital Wallets

This is NTNU

NTNU is a broad-based university with a technical-scientific profile and a focus in professional education. The university is located in three cities with headquarters in Trondheim.

At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KHQjc4ndas&t=41s

About the position

Are you motivated to take a step towards a doctorate and open exciting career opportunities? As a PhD Candidate with us, you will work to achieve your doctorate, and at the same time gain valuable experience that qualifies you for a further career in higher education and research, in and outside academia.

The PhD project will design, implement and analyze privacy-preserving protocols for digital identity wallets, such as the EU Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet. The focus is on how cryptographic tools like zero-knowledge proofs and anonymous credentials can deliver selective disclosure, pseudonymity and unlinkability in practice, and on the privacy and security risks that arise when wallets are integrated into public and private services. A central question is how to balance strong privacy guarantees against security and usability. The proposed solutions will be evaluated both through security analysis and through user studies.

The position will run for four years, including teaching duties. Your immediate leader will be the Head of Discipline, and the workplace is in Trondheim.

About the project

The position is part of the project Cryptology and social life: Sovereignty, security and society meet digital wallets, funded by NTNU. The overall project goal is to develop knowledge, methodologies and competencies that strengthen Norway's ability to deploy and maintain secure, privacy-preserving and democratically aligned digital identity wallets. The challenges are interdisciplinary, cutting across issues of digital sovereignty, identity management and security technologies. This project will strengthen Norway's societal resilience by treating digital identity as a problem to be secured technologically, organizationally and culturally at once.

You will work closely with the three other PhD candidates in the project, in particular the candidate developing quantum-safe verifiable credentials. The user studies will be carried out together with the candidates studying the societal and organizational aspects of digital wallets.

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of high quality within the framework described above
• Academic publications and popular science dissemination
• Participate in the research group NTNU Applied Cryptology Lab (NaCl)
• Participate in international activities such as conferences and/or research stays at foreign educational institutions
• Teaching duties in relevant courses at the department
• Other career-promoting work

 Some changes to your work duties may occur after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must meet the requirements for admission to the IE faculty's Doctoral Programme in Information Security and Communication Technology, see Section 6-1 of the PhD regulations for more information.
• You must have a relevant master's degree in information security, cryptology, computer science, or equivalent. Your degree must include a major independent project (minimum 30 ECTS) equivalent to a master’s thesis.
• Master students can apply, but the master's degree must be obtained and documented before starting the position and no later than August 31, 2027.
• You must have a strong and relevant academic background from your previous studies and have an average grade from your master's degree study, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared to NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic foundation. If you have a weaker academic background, you may be considered if you can document that you are exceptionally suited for a PhD education, for example through relevant work experience and/or peer-reviewed academic works.
• Good oral and written presentation skills in English
• Ability to perform research in a cross-disciplinary environment

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Documented experience with applied cryptography or privacy-enhancing technologies
• Knowledge of digital identity and verifiable credential systems, such as the EUDI Wallet
• Interest in and/or documented experience with usable security and privacy, or with human aspects related privacy-enhancing technologies, security, cryptography or other related areas 
• Programming skills and experience with implementing cryptographic protocols
• Relevant publication activities will be considered an advantage
• Good oral and written presentation skills in Norwegian/Scandinavian language

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to: 

• Work independently
• Work in a structured way, set goals and make plans to achieve them
• Present and discuss your research with other professionals
• Get involved and contribute constructively with feedback
• Show curiosity and a strong motivation for the subject

Emphasis will be placed on personal qualities.

We offer

• An exciting job with an important mission in society
• Developing tasks in a strong and international professional environment
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Open and inclusive working environment with committed colleagues
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK) 
• Free Norwegian language training at a basic level (A2)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse, and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving our societal mission in research and education. 

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability, and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality. 

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be NOK 580 000,- per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 4 years, of which 3 years are dedicated to the doctoral work and 1 year to career promotion work, such as teaching. The planned start date is August 2027.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD programme in Information Security and Communication Technology within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral programme throughout the period of employment.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English. 

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

The application must include:

• Transcripts and diplomas for bachelor's and master's degrees
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) with an overview of relevant experience 
• A short document with motivation and research statement on digital identities (2 pages)
• Copy of master's thesis. If you have not yet submitted your master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Possibly publications or other relevant research work
• Possibly certificates for relevant courses or skills outside of the educational program
• Names and contact information of three relevant referees

If all, or parts of your education have been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both bachelor's and master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well. 

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Associate Professor Tjerand Silde, email tjerand.silde@ntnu.no. 

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR consultant Julie Lindland, email: julie.lindland@ntnu.no.

Application deadline: 20.11.2026

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 
 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.