Engineer - Scientific programmer in privacy-preserving federated machine learning (F/M)
Contract type : Fixed-term contract
Level of qualifications required : Graduate degree or equivalent
Fonction : Temporary scientific engineer
Level of experience : From 3 to 5 years
About the research centre or Inria department
Created in 2008, the Inria center at the University of Lille employs 360 people, including 305 scientists in 16 research teams. Recognized for its strong involvement in the socio-economic development of the Hauts-De-France region, the Inria center at the University of Lille maintains a close relationship with large companies and SMEs. By fostering synergies between researchers and industry, Inria contributes to the transfer of skills and expertise in the field of digital technologies, and provides access to the best of European and international research for the benefit of innovation and businesses, particularly in the region.
For over 10 years, the Inria center at the University of Lille has been at the heart of Lille's university and scientific ecosystem, as well as at the heart of Frenchtech, with a technology showroom based on avenue de Bretagne in Lille, on the EuraTechnologies site of economic excellence dedicated to information and communication technologies (ICT).
Context
This engineer position will be supported by the PEPR IA Redeem project. While this position will be in the MAGNET team in Lille, we will collaborate with the several European project partners.
While AI techniques are becoming ever more powerful, there is a growing concern about potential risks and abuses. As a result, there has been an increasing interest in research directions such as privacy-preserving machine learning, explainable machine learning, fairness and data protection legislation.
Privacy-preserving machine learning aims at learning (and publishing or applying) a model from data while the data is not revealed. Notions such as (local) differential privacy and its generalizations allow to bound the amount of information revealed.
The MAGNET team is involved inthe related TRUMPET, FLUTE and REDEEM projects, and is looking for team members who can in close collaboration with other team members and national & international partners contribute to one or more of these projects. All of these projects aim at researching and prototyping algoirhtms for secure, privacy-preserving federated learning in settings with potentially malicious participants. The TRUMPET and FLUTE projects focus on applications in the field of oncology, while the REDEEM project has no a priori fixed application domain.
Assignment
The recruited engineer will collaborate with colleagues in the MAGNET team and the REDEEM project. In particular, the work will contribute to REDEEM's open source library, by collaboratively designing and developing the overall architecture and contributing modules providing privacy enhancing technologies (PETs) and privacy assessment functionality based on MAGNET scientific advances
By default all developed software will be open-source.
Tasks may include
- developing algorithms, e.g., cryptographic or statistical modules, modules supporting the knowledge discovery pipeline and its automatisation
- testing algorithms through systematic benchmarking / experimentation
- applying algorithms in applications
Main activities
- Studying new algorithms for reasoning about data privacy
- Automatically analyzing and transforming algorithms and queries provided as input.
- Design and prototyping of key algorithms
- Create appropriate documentation
- Integrate such implementations in the FLUTE platform
- test algorithms and run experiments
- Prepare further research and development starting from the FLUTE platform.
Skills
Technical skills and level required :
- a strong understanding of distributed algorithms
- software design and development skills (relevant code may include Python and/or C/C++)
- understanding of process models and (probabilistic) reasoning techniques
- understanding of programming language internals (e.g., abstract syntax trees)
Languages :
- Mastering English is essential
Relational skills :
- smoothly working in a team in a reseach environment
- effective communication and collaboration
- eager to learn in an academic setting
Benefits package
- Subsidized meals
- Partial reimbursement of public transport costs
- Leave: 7 weeks of annual leave + 10 extra days off due to RTT (statutory reduction in working hours) + possibility of exceptional leave (sick children, moving home, etc.)
- Possibility of teleworking and flexible organization of working hours
- Professional equipment available (videoconferencing, loan of computer equipment, etc.)
- Social, cultural and sports events and activities
- Access to vocational training
- Social security coverage
Remuneration
According to profile
General Information
- Theme/Domain :
Data and Knowledge Representation and Processing
Statistics (Big data) (BAP E) - Town/city : Villeneuve d'Ascq
- Inria Center : Centre Inria de l'Université de Lille
- Starting date : 2026-09-01
- Duration of contract : 10 months
- Deadline to apply : 2026-08-24
Warning : you must enter your e-mail address in order to save your application to Inria. Applications must be submitted online on the Inria website. Processing of applications sent from other channels is not guaranteed.
Instruction to apply
Please send us your CV and cover letter.
Defence Security :
This position is likely to be situated in a restricted area (ZRR), as defined in Decree No. 2011-1425 relating to the protection of national scientific and technical potential (PPST).Authorisation to enter an area is granted by the director of the unit, following a favourable Ministerial decision, as defined in the decree of 3 July 2012 relating to the PPST. An unfavourable Ministerial decision in respect of a position situated in a ZRR would result in the cancellation of the appointment.
Recruitment Policy :
As part of its diversity policy, all Inria positions are accessible to people with disabilities.
Contacts
- Inria Team : MAGNET
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Recruiter :
Ramon Jan / jan.ramon@inria.fr
The keys to success
We are looking for a candidate with a strong background in computer science, with interest in research (including the mathematics needed to realize privacy) who welcomes the broad range of challenges leading to a successful result.
The development to which the engineers will contribute will include among others parts requiring (a) highly efficient mathematical code (for the reasoning components), (b) communication and security related modules, (c) interaction with AI libraries (e.g., scikit learn) and (d) analyzing and transforming algorithms and queries provided as input by the ML user. Being familiar with at least one of these areas of software development is an important asset.
It is important to integrate in the academic setting where everybody is continuously learning, the team where collaboration is important and the project with its specific goals and partners.
About Inria
Inria, the French national institute for research in digital science and technology, supports the French government in national research and innovation strategies in the digital field, acting as Digital Programs Agency. Inria leads over 300 research and innovation projects with its 3,500 scientists, engineers, and support staff, in partnership with universities and the digital ecosystem (businesses, entrepreneurs, and public stakeholders). Together, we explore strategic fields such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum computing, cloud technologies, digital transformation in healthcare, digital twins, and digital technologies for defence. We develop practical solutions such as software, tech startups, partnerships with national companies, and cutting-edge training programmes. Our goal is to drive scientific, technological, and industrial excellence to ensure France’s digital sovereignty.