The SANAD Lab (Software Analysis and Developer Support) at NYU Abu Dhabi — co-led by Dr. Sarah Nadi and Dr. Karim Ali — is seeking motivated PhD students for fully funded, 4-year doctoral positions starting Fall 2027. The lab focuses on building scalable, precise, and actionable software engineering tools — working at the frontier of AI for Software Engineering, LLM-generated code correctness, smart contract security, program analysis, dependency management, and software supply chain research — with a track record of top-venue publications at ICSE, FSE, ASE, and beyond.
About SANAD Lab — NYU Abu Dhabi
Lab Focus: Software Analysis and Developer Support — scalable, precise, and actionable tools that improve how developers write, understand, and maintain software
Publication Venues: ICSE, FSE, ASE, ICSME, TSE, MSR, EMSE, OOPSLA, ISSTA — top-tier SE research consistently
Support: Generous funding package, state-of-the-art computing resources, international collaboration, and research visits
Location: Beautiful Saadiyat Campus, Abu Dhabi — one of the world’s safest and most sought-after cities
Why This Fully Funded PhD Stands Out
World-Class Supervisors: Dr. Sarah Nadi and Dr. Karim Ali — internationally recognised software engineering researchers with prolific top-venue publication records
Frontier Research Themes: AI for SE, LLM code correctness, smart contract security, supply chain, program analysis — the most cited areas in modern SE research
Fully Funded: Complete 4-year funding package — stipend, tuition, and university support at one of the world’s leading global universities
International Collaboration: Mentorship, international research visits, and opportunities to present at top global software engineering venues
Position Overview
PhD students at the SANAD Lab, NYU Abu Dhabi contribute to and shape cutting-edge research projects in software engineering — spanning dependency management and software supply chain security, assessing and improving correctness of LLM-generated code, smart contract security, software energy efficiency, AI for Software Engineering, program analysis for detecting security vulnerabilities, and scalable and precise pointer analysis. Students are supervised by Dr. Sarah Nadi, Dr. Karim Ali, or both through joint co-supervision — working within a collaborative lab with access to state-of-the-art computing resources and a track record of publication at the most prestigious global software engineering venues.
Why This PhD Position Matters: As a PhD student at the SANAD Lab in Abu Dhabi, you join one of the most productive and respected software engineering research groups in the world — contributing original research to problems that directly shape how software is written, tested, secured, and maintained globally. You will tackle frontier challenges in AI-generated code quality, smart contract vulnerabilities, program analysis precision, and software supply chain security — publishing at the venues that define the field while living and working on one of the most beautiful university campuses anywhere in the world.
Current Research Themes
AI for Software Engineering & LLM Code Quality
- Assessing and improving the correctness of LLM-generated code — a rapidly growing research frontier with direct industry impact
- AI for Software Engineering — applying machine learning and AI techniques to developer tools, code understanding, and maintenance
- Building scalable tools that help developers work more productively with AI-generated and AI-assisted code
Security, Supply Chain & Smart Contracts
- Dependency management and software supply chain — API version updates, library migration, and API misuse detection
- Smart contract security — identifying vulnerabilities and improving the correctness of blockchain smart contract code
- Program analysis for detecting security vulnerabilities — static and dynamic analysis applied to real-world software systems
Program Analysis & Software Quality
- Scalable and precise pointer analysis — fundamental program analysis research with broad application across security and optimisation
- Software energy efficiency — measuring and improving the energy footprint of software systems
- Mining software repositories and empirical software engineering for actionable, evidence-based developer tool improvements
Ideal Candidate Profile
Essential Background
- Strong background in software engineering, programming languages, or security
- Proficiency in Python, Java, Swift, Scala, or C/C++ — essential for research implementation
- Demonstrated research potential — thesis work, publications, or open-source contributions
- Ability to communicate ideas and results clearly, both in writing and in person
Advantageous Experience
- Experience in static or dynamic analysis, mining software repositories, or AI for code applications
- Prior research exposure through thesis, internship, or conference paper contributions
- Strong open-source contributions or publicly available research code
About NYU Abu Dhabi — Where Excellence Lives
NYU Abu Dhabi is one of the world’s leading global research universities — a portal campus of New York University situated on the stunning Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi. Combining the academic prestige of NYU with the safety, vibrancy, and cosmopolitan character of Abu Dhabi, NYUAD offers PhD students a uniquely supportive, international, and intellectually ambitious research environment. The SANAD Lab at NYUAD brings together some of the world’s most productive software engineering researchers, with a publication track record spanning ICSE, FSE, ASE, OOPSLA, ISSTA, and all the top venues in the field — making this one of the most exciting fully funded doctoral opportunities in software engineering available anywhere globally in 2026.
⚠️ Application Note: Submit both the NYU system application (selecting Abu Dhabi 1st and 2nd campus preference) AND the SANAD Lab internal interest form. The internal form does not replace the NYU application — both are required.
Career Excellence: Pursue world-class PhD research in software engineering, AI for code, and security at NYU Abu Dhabi — fully funded, Fall 2027.
Who Should Apply?
Motivated PhD Candidates Seeking Full Funding: Ready to commit to 4 years of rigorous, collaborative research on NYU Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat campus
Software Engineering Researchers: With strong SE, PL, or security backgrounds and a genuine desire to build tools that improve developer practice globally
AI for Code Enthusiasts: Interested in researching the correctness, reliability, and improvement of LLM-generated code at a top-tier academic lab
Security & Smart Contract Researchers: With interest in static/dynamic analysis, vulnerability detection, or blockchain smart contract correctness
Python, Java, or C/C++ Engineers with Research Aspirations: Who have demonstrated research potential through thesis, publications, or significant open-source work
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