Post-Doctoral Research Associate: Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science - UTK

University of Tennessee • Knoxville, TN

4d • Onsite

About The Position

The research group of Dr. Suya in the Min H. Kao Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK) is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to contribute to externally funded research in trustworthy AI, adversarial machine learning, and the security of physical/cyber-physical AI systems. The position is for one year in the first instance, with the possibility of extension contingent on performance and funding. The successful candidate will lead and contribute to research projects at the intersection of trustworthy AI, security and privacy of cyber-physical and IoT systems, and physical-layer adversarial attacks against AI-enabled sensing and recognition systems. The position offers significant autonomy in shaping research directions, opportunities to co-author publications at top venues (CCS, NDSS, USENIX Security, IEEE S&P), mentor graduate/undergraduate students, and participate in proposal development for federal funding agencies (NSF, DARPA, ARO, DoE).

Requirements

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a closely related field (completed by start date).
• Demonstrated record of peer-reviewed publications in security, machine learning, or cyber-physical systems.
• Strong programming skills (Python and/or C/C++) and experience with ML frameworks (PyTorch or TensorFlow).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Nice To Haves

• Ph.D. with a dissertation focus in security, machine learning, cyber-physical systems, or a closely related area.
• First-author publications at top-tier security venues (e.g., CCS, NDSS, USENIX Security, IEEE S&P).
• Experience mentoring graduate or undergraduate researchers.
• Service to the research community (paper reviewing, workshop organization).
• Expertise in one or more of: adversarial ML, side/covert channels, sensor-driven attacks, IoT/CPS security.
• Background spanning both systems-level (embedded systems, signal processing, wireless/communications) and AI/ML research is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead and participate in research projects in one or more of the following areas: trustworthy AI; security and privacy of cyber-physical and IoT systems; side-channel attacks and defenses on AI workloads; or physical-layer attacks against AI-enabled sensing and recognition.
• Co-advise and mentor graduate and undergraduate student researchers on related projects.
• Co-author publications at top venues (e.g., CCS, NDSS, USENIX Security, IEEE S&P).
• Contribute to proposal development for federal funding agencies (e.g., NSF, DARPA, ARO, DoE).

Benefits

• health insurance
• retirement contributions
• paid time off

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Principal
• Education Level: Ph.D. or professional degree