Principal Engineer (Formal Methods & Program Verification)

Job Overview

We are seeking a highly specialised Principal Engineer with deep expertise in programming languages theory, formal methods, and program verification to lead the design and development of advanced software correctness and verification systems.

The successful candidate will work at the intersection of research and engineering, translating formal semantics, type theory, and proof systems into practical tools for software verification, compiler correctness, and secure system design.

This role is research-intensive and requires strong capability in designing and implementing foundational systems for program analysis and verification.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the design and implementation of program verification frameworks and formal reasoning tools
• Develop and extend systems based on formal semantics, type systems, and logical reasoning (e.g., Lean, Dafny, or similar environments)
• Design intermediate verification languages and correctness-preserving compilation pipelines
• Implement and improve automated reasoning systems for software correctness and security assurance
• Contribute to research-driven engineering of weak memory models, program logic, and compiler verification techniques
• Collaborate with research teams and engineers to bridge theoretical models and production-grade tooling
• Review and validate correctness of core system components involving symbolic execution, theorem proving, or static analysis
• Provide technical leadership in architecture decisions for verification infrastructure

Requirements

• PhD (ongoing or completed) in Computer Science, Mathematics, or related field
• Strong background in programming language semantics, formal methods, or program verification
• Experience with proof assistants or verification frameworks (e.g., Lean, Coq, Dafny, Isabelle)
• Experience in compiler design, static analysis, or intermediate representation design
• Strong programming skills in systems languages or research-oriented environments
• Demonstrated research experience in areas such as:
• formal semantics
• weak memory models
• program logic
• automated reasoning
• Ability to work independently on complex research-engineering problems

Preferred Experience

• Experience with Lean ecosystem or theorem proving infrastructure
• Work on smart contract verification or secure computation systems
• Contributions to academic publications or research prototypes
• Experience in applied verification systems in industry or research labs