Scalable and Resilient Distributed Storage
Contract type : Fixed-term contract
Level of qualifications required : Graduate degree or equivalent
Fonction : Temporary scientific engineer
About the research centre or Inria department
The Inria center at the University of Rennes is one of eight Inria centers and has more than thirty research teams. The Inria center is a major and recognized player in the field of digital sciences. It is at the heart of a rich ecosystem of R&D and innovation, including highly innovative SMEs, large industrial groups, competitiveness clusters, research and higher education institutions, centers of excellence, and technological research institutes.
Context
Context
This Research Engineer position is part of a collaboration between HIVE and the WIDE and COAST
teams at Inria. The successful candidate will be part of the WIDE team based at Inria Rennes.
About WIDE
The WIDE team at the Inria center at Rennes University investigates the key fundamental theoretical
and practical questions posed by modern distributed computer systems. This involves exploring the
inherent tension between scalability and coordination guarantees and developing novel techniques
and paradigms that are adapted to the rapid and profound changes impacting today's distributed
systems, both in terms of the application domains they support and the operational constraints they
must meet.
About COAST
The COAST team at Inria Center at Lorraine University aims at providing support to build trustworthy
collaborative applications based on the knowledge from replication algorithms, from the composition
of services and from services quality that can be deduced and monitored. The complexity of the
context in which applications are executed makes it impossible to provide provable deterministic
guarantees. COAST tackles this problem by leveraging a contractual and monitored approach to give
users confidence in the services they use.
About Hive
Hive is shaping the future of cloud computing by leveraging unused computing capacity to provide a
decentralized, environmentally friendly, and user-empowered alternative to traditional cloud services.
By utilizing distributed peer-to-peer networks, end-to-end encryption, and blockchain technologies,
Hive aims to establish a more sovereign and efficient cloud ecosystem.
Assignment
Position Overview
We are seeking a Research Engineer to work on the development of a scalable and resilient
distributed storage system suitable for a decentralized, trustless environment. The role will involve
designing, implementing, and optimizing Distributed Hash Tables (DHTs) for large-scale,
permissionless networks, addressing challenges related to scalability, reactivity, and resilience in
adversarial conditions.
Main activities
Research & Development: Analyze and improve existing DHT mechanisms, such as
Kademlia, to ensure scalability and efficiency in handling large numbers of nodes and data
blocks.
Implementation & Optimization: Develop adaptive refreshment and routing strategies
informed by real-world data from IPFS workloads.
Security & Fault Tolerance: Enhance the system's resistance to Byzantine and Sybil attacks
using innovative cryptographic and distributed consensus techniques.
Proof-of-Storage Mechanisms: Explore alternative consensus mechanisms (e.g.,
Proof-of-Storage) to ensure security without the energy consumption or economic
centralization of PoW or PoS.
Collaboration & Integration: Work closely with academic partners, integrating research
insights into practical, deployable solutions for Hive’s decentralized cloud platform.
Testing & Validation: Conduct simulations, benchmarks, and real-world testing to validate the
proposed solutions.
Skills
Preferred Qualifications
Experience working with large-scale decentralized applications.
Familiarity with adversarial models and security threats in distributed environments.
Contributions to open-source projects in distributed storage or blo
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 (after 6 months of employment) 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
Remuneration
monthly gross salary from 2695 euros according to diploma and experience
General Information
- Theme/Domain :
Distributed Systems and middleware
System & Networks (BAP E) - Town/city : Rennes
- Inria Center : Centre Inria de l'Université de Rennes
- Starting date : 2025-05-01
- Duration of contract : 12 months
- Deadline to apply : 2025-04-30
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 submit online : your resume, cover letter and letters of recommendation eventually
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 : WIDE
-
Recruiter :
Frey Davide / davide.frey@inria.fr
The keys to success
Required Qualifications
Master’s degree or PhD in Computer Science, Distributed Systems, Cryptography, or a related field.
Strong experience in distributed systems, DHTs (e.g., Kademlia), and peer-to-peer
networking.
Proficiency in programming languages such as Go, Rust, or Python.
Experience with blockchain technologies, Byzantine Fault Tolerance (BFT), or distributed
consensus mechanisms is a plus.
Strong problem-solving skills and ability to work in a collaborative research-driven
environment.
Prior experience in implementing or researching distributed storage solutions (e.g., IPFS) is
highly desirable.
About Inria
Inria is the French national research institute dedicated to digital science and technology. It employs 2,600 people. Its 200 agile project teams, generally run jointly with academic partners, include more than 3,500 scientists and engineers working to meet the challenges of digital technology, often at the interface with other disciplines. The Institute also employs numerous talents in over forty different professions. 900 research support staff contribute to the preparation and development of scientific and entrepreneurial projects that have a worldwide impact.