Postdoc and PhD positions on Process Mining, TU Eindhoven

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science of the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e) has two vacancies for a Postdoc and PhD on PROCESS MINING within the expertise group Architecture of Information Systems (AIS).

The goal of process mining is to extract process-related information from event logs, e.g., to automatically discover a process model by observing events recorded by some information system. However, process mining is not limited to discovery and also includes conformance checking (investigating whether reality conforms to a given model and vice versa) and extension
(augmenting an existing model with additional insights extracted from some event log).

Process mining is currently seen as one of the main innovations in process analysis and business process management. This is reflected by the interest of practitioners in process mining (ideas are rapidly incorporated by vendors and triggered several startup companies) and emergence of a thriving new research field. Despite these remarkable successes, several challenging
problems that require additional scientific and technological breakthroughs remain. From a scientific point of view, process mining can be seen as a marriage between data mining and machine learning on the one hand and process modeling and formal methods on the other.

The AIS group is doing research in the area of process modeling and analysis and is the world-wide leading group on process mining. The ProM initiative (www.processmining.org) started at TU/e. This initiative promotes the further advancement and application of process mining through the development of the open source process mining tool ProM. ProM is the most
widely used process mining tool and has been applied in hundreds of organizations.

The Postdoc will be working on Poseidon project. The Poseidon project involves Thales, the Embedded Systems Institute, Noldus, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven (TU/e), and five other Dutch universities. Thales is a global electronics company delivering mission-critical information systems and services for the Aerospace, Defense, and Security markets and serves as
the main industry partner in this project. The contribution of AIS in this project focuses on the interaction of system components. This involves issues such as process mining, process discovery, conformance, process compatibility, interface adaptation, and adapter generation. The Postdoc will focus on the discovery of protocols and non-conformance by actually observing the systems interact in their natural habitat. The project is already running for two years. The appointment will be until 1-6-2011.

The PhD will be working on REPLAY (Replaying History on Process Models for Conformance Checking and Performance Analysis) project. This is an NWO project focusing on conformance checking and performance analysis by replaying history on the process model. The PhD will focus on the following questions: Can we quantify the degree of conformance?, Can we give suitable
diagnostics and show non-conformance graphically?, Can we predict non-conformance?, and Can we predict sojourn times and paths based on historic information? The appointment will be for a four year period.

Requirements:
We are looking for a candidate who meets the following requirements:
- a solid background in Computer Science (demonstrated by a relevant MSc or PhD);
- interested in process mining and a strong background in data mining and machine learning and/or process modeling and formal methods;
- candidates from non-Dutch or non-English speaking countries should be prepared to prove their English language skills;
- for the Postdoc project only candidates from NATO countries can apply;
- good communicative skills in English, both in speaking and in writing;
- moreover, candidates are expected to have affinity for research with an industrial focus and should be able to realize research ideas in terms of software.

Appointment and salary:
- full-time temporary appointment for a period of 4 years (PhD) or 1.75 years (Postdoc);
- a gross salary conforming to the Collective Labour Agreement (CAO) of Dutch Universities (see http://english.vsnu.nl/web/show/id=88914/langid=42 and http://w3.tue.nl/en/services/dpo/conditions_of_employment/formal_conditions_of_employment/ for more information);
- a broad package of fringe benefits (e.g. excellent technical infrastructure, child care, savings schemes, and excellent sports facilities);
- the selected candidates will be supervised by Prof.dr.ir. Wil van der Aalst and work together with several other process mining experts in AIS;
- the selected candidates will be employed by TU/e, but the Postdoc (Poseidon project) will spend significant time working with people in the Embedded Systems Institute also located in Eindhoven.

Application:
Interested candidates are requested to send an application (motivational letter, curriculum vitae, copies of diplomas, as well as proof of English language skills) by e-mail to Ine van der Ligt (wsinfsys@tue.nl) with the reference "Application Process Mining Postdoc/PhD" in the subject field. Applications should be received by 31st July 2009.

More information:
- www.processmining.org
- www.win.tue.nl/ais/
- www.vdaalst.com
- http://w3.tue.nl/en/services/dpo/conditions_of_employment/