DC14 — Energy-Efficient Full-Stack Development Toolchain for Energy-Aware AI Apps
Host: Ericsson, Finland — Ericsson Research Finland. The PhD degree is awarded by Aalto University.
Work package: WP3 (Fleet Operations and Industrial Validation)
Duration and start: 36 months, full-time; start between February and September 2027 (latest start September 2027).
The project
Today’s programming tools show nothing about the energy or carbon impact of the code a developer writes. In this project you put energy awareness into the everyday software workflow.
You will build tools that give real-time energy estimates inside the code editor, add automatic checks that catch energy regressions before release, and prove the toolchain on a real Open RAN application.
What you will work on:
- Develop an editor (IDE) plugin that gives developers real-time energy-cost estimates for their code.
- Add CI/CD gates that automatically test for energy regressions.
- Prove the toolchain by optimizing a representative Open RAN application.
What you will deliver:
- An IDE plugin for a popular editor (for example VS Code) that gives real-time energy feedback.
- A CI/CD framework that flags energy regressions against configurable thresholds.
- An Open RAN case study documenting the developer workflow and the resulting energy savings.
Secondments
You will spend two research visits with partners in the network:
- Aalto University (Espoo, Finland) — 3 months from around March 2028 (academic), with Riku Jäntti: build the energy models into the developer toolchain.
- Lund University (Lund, Sweden) — 3 months from around September 2028 (academic), with Johan Eker: tune the energy-aware deployment configurations for the toolchain.
The host
Ericsson Research Finland works on cloud-native software, network orchestration, and energy-efficient networks, with a strong role in 3GPP and IETF standardization.
You will be employed by Ericsson and enrolled for your PhD at Aalto University (Espoo, Finland).
Supervision
Main supervisor: Miika Komu (ORCID) — Senior researcher in cloud-native software, Ericsson Research Finland; co-author of seven IETF RFCs. He works on cloud-native networking.
Co-supervisors:
Profile we are looking for
- Software engineering, compilers, or developer tools (IDE plugins, CI/CD)
- Energy measurement is a plus
- MSc (completed or near completion) in computer science, software engineering, or a related field
- Curiosity, initiative, and good spoken and written English
You must also meet the MSCA eligibility rules — no PhD yet, the mobility rule, and open to all nationalities.
How to apply
Official vacancy at the host institution: link coming soon.
Until then, apply through the central AEGIS application portal: AEGIS application portal (reference position DC14), and read what to include in your application.
Questions about this position? Contact the coordinator, Prof. Paul Pop, aegis@compute.dtu.dk.