Job Reference Number: 1648436

Join an established, high-performing research team delivering innovative solutions that support the development, delivery and evolution of Australia's defence systems. This exciting opportunity forms part of a Defence-funded research contract exploring cutting-edge, industry-developed technologies designed to enhance platform performance, scalability, security and resource efficiency.

Please note: Applicants must be Australian Citizens.

About the Role

As a Research Fellow, you will contribute to world-leading research into Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) technologies, working at the intersection of software engineering, distributed systems, cloud platforms and performance evaluation. You will collaborate with researchers, software engineers, students and Defence stakeholders to translate research concepts into practical prototypes and technology solutions that address real-world capability challenges.

In this impactful role, you’ll undertake applied research and software development activities that support the design, integration, testing and evaluation of secure and scalable software platforms. The role combines research excellence with hands‑on technical implementation, providing opportunities to contribute to impactful outcomes for both Defence and academic audiences.

Your responsibilities will include

- Conducting applied research across PaaS technologies, distributed computing, software platform design and performance assessment.
- Designing, developing and validating research prototypes and platform components supporting secure and scalable software deployment.




- Developing benchmarking frameworks, evaluation methodologies and experimental protocols to assess performance, reliability, scalability, interoperability and resource utilisation.
- Collaborating with software engineers on architecture design, platform integration, testing, automation and technical documentation.
- Analysing research findings and preparing technical reports, project deliverables, briefings and scholarly outputs.
- Supporting robust research practices including data management, reproducibility, version control, confidentiality and research integrity.
- Building productive relationships with Defence, industry and academic stakeholders through project meetings, reviews and demonstrations.
- Mentoring and supporting students and junior team members contributing to related research activities.

Who we are looking for (Selection Criteria)

Essential

- A PhD, or near completion of a PhD, in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Information Technology, Distributed Systems, Artificial Intelligence, Data Science, or a closely related discipline.
- Demonstrated experience in applied research, software engineering, distributed systems, cloud/PaaS platforms, or performance evaluation.




- Strong programming and prototyping skills, with experience in languages and tools such as Python, Java, C/C++, Go, JavaScript/TypeScript, or equivalent.
- Ability to design and conduct experiments, analyse results, and report findings clearly for technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Experience with collaborative software development practices, including Git, issue tracking, documentation, testing, and reproducible workflows.
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to prepare technical reports, research publications, and stakeholder briefings.
- Ability to work effectively in a multidisciplinary team and engage professionally with university, industry, and Defence partners.
- Commitment to Curtin values, research integrity, confidentiality, and safe and respectful workplace practices.

Desirable

- Experience trialling, piloting, or evaluating current and emerging technologies, particularly PaaS platforms and services (e.g. Kubernetes-based, serverless, or cloud-native environments).
- Experience with containerisation, orchestration, DevOps, MLOps, or infrastructure automation tools such as Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipelines, or cloud services.
- Experience in benchmarking, simulation, system testing, performance profiling, or evaluation of cloud, edge, distributed, or service-oriented platforms.
- Experience contributing to externally funded research projects, milestone reporting, stakeholder engagement, or Defence-related research environments.

📌 Research Associate (Australia)
🏢 Curtin University
📍 Australia