Research Fellow SW Maintenance & Evolution

Want to make your mark on our time? Become a Research Fellow SW Maintenance & Evolution at TNO in Eindhoven!

About this position

In this role, you will do applied research at the intersection of software engineering, program analysis, and industrial practice. You will collaborate with partners such as ASML, Canon, Philips, and Vanderlande, following the “industry as a lab” principle: real systems, real constraints, and results that get used. Your work focuses on technologies for software maintenance and evolution of large codebases: program comprehension, reverse engineering, refactoring, and migration. You will build and validate techniques that help engineers understand systems faster, modernize safely, and reduce long-term cost and risk.

What will be your role?

• Prototype and evaluate methods and tools for program analysis and program comprehension (e.g., static analysis, parsing, lightweight modeling).
• Extract and formalize models from software artifacts (source code, build pipelines, logs, and technical documentation) to support migration and refactoring decisions.
• Design and test “digital engineering assistants” that support software analysis or modernization, including responsible use of generative AI where relevant.
• Work in multidisciplinary project teams and co-create solutions with industrial engineers; present results in workshops and project reviews.
• Contribute to research outputs (technical reports, internal tooling, and—where applicable—scientific publications and conference presentations).
• You will typically work with existing industrial assets in languages like C++, C#, and Python on Windows and Linux, and you will help teams move towards more maintainable architectures, tooling, and workflows.

What we expect from you

• MSc or PhD in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Programming Languages, or a related field.
• Hands-on programming skills and the ability to work with (and improve) existing codebases; experience with at least one of C++, C#, Java, or Python.
• Interest or experience in program analysis, compilers, language engineering, reverse engineering, or software modernization.
• Ability to communicate clearly with both researchers and engineers; comfortable presenting results and recommendations.
• Team mindset and ownership: you collaborate, deliver, and iterate based on feedback and project constraints.
• Experience with compiler tooling, language workbenches, or code-query frameworks (e.g., LLVM/Clang, Roslyn, ANTLR, tree-sitter).
• Experience applying static analysis, intelligent parsing, or lightweight modeling to extract structure from source code and documentation.
• Experience building research prototypes in Python and transitioning them into maintainable internal tooling.
• Knowledge of software engineering processes in industry (CI/CD, testing strategy, architecture, system engineering).
• Interest in responsible generative-AI solutions for software engineering (e.g., retrieval-augmented assistance, evaluation, safety).

What you'll get in return

Challenging and varied work with a real impact. And plenty of opportunities as, at TNO, you are in charge of shaping your career. We offer a gross monthly salary between € 4,621 and € 7,114 (based on your knowledge and experience), 8% holiday pay, a 13th month bonus of 8.33% and a flex budget (5.58% + € 180). In addition, you will be given every opportunity to develop yourself.

TNO offers optional employee benefits, enabling you to tailor your benefits package to match your personal situation. You may also expect:

• An extremely professional, innovative working environment where colleagues are leading experts in their field.
• The opportunity to attend courses, workshops and conferences, and to receive training and coaching based on your needs.
• 33 days annual leave on a full-time basis plus a flexible holiday (prorated) that can be used on a cultural, religious, or otherwise important day of your choosing.
• We offer a comprehensive and flexible mobility plan that also includes full compensation for public transportation for commuting and business travel.
• Great social events with your team and other TNO colleagues. That’s how you will get to know a lot of people really quickly.
• Flexible working hours, the possibility to work parttime (32 or 36 hours) and the possibility of working from home.
• A good pension scheme.

TNO as an employer

At TNO, we innovate for a healthier, safer and more sustainable life. And for a strong economy. You work with people who will challenge you: who inspire you and want to learn from you. Our state-of-the-art facilities are there to realize your vision. What you do at TNO matters: impact makes the difference. Because with every innovation you contribute to tomorrow’s world.