Postdoctoral Researcher/Assistant Research Scientist – AI, Cybersecurity & High-Performance Research Computing

Texas A&M - Central Texas • Killeen, TX

7d • Onsite

About The Position

Texas A&M University–Central Texas is hiring a Postdoctoral Researcher/Assistant or Associate Research Scientist to work in its Center for Cybersecurity Innovation. The position focuses on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and high-performance computing. The successful candidate will design and evaluate practical agentic AI solutions for cybersecurity anomaly detection and other use cases, conduct empirical research, explore privacy-preserving techniques, and assist with the setup and operation of a new multi-user HPC lab accessible to researchers, faculty, and students across the university. The role also includes guiding undergraduate and graduate research assistants and publishing research in peer-reviewed journals and leading conference proceedings.

The position is currently grant-funded, with funding anticipated to end on November 22, 2027. The university is committed to retaining the position after the grant ends if financially feasible. This is an on-campus, non-remote position in Killeen, Texas. The schedule is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with occasional weeknights and/or weekends. The position does not supervise employees.

Requirements

• Earned doctorate in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Information Systems, Software Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, or a closely related field, or an equivalent combination of education and related experience.
• Strong programming background, such as Python or C/C++.
• High self-motivation, creativity, and a collaborative mindset.
• Applicants must be authorized to work for any U.S. employer.

Nice To Haves

• 1–3 years of experience in cybersecurity, AI research, and/or high-performance computing lab environments.
• Demonstrated experience with agentic AI, such as autonomous or multi-agent, tool-using LLM-based systems, applied to cybersecurity problems including threat detection, automated incident response, or vulnerability assessment.
• Hands-on proficiency with AI frameworks and libraries such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, Keras, or Jupyter.
• A track record of peer-reviewed scientific publications.
• Experience conducting empirical evaluations, user studies, or usability assessments.

Responsibilities

• Lead or assist with technical implementation, deployment, and configuration of a standalone High-Performance Computing (HPC) lab environment.
• Help establish user onboarding protocols, multi-tenant resource management policies, and hardware access workflows for cross-disciplinary researchers and students.
• Architect, implement, and evaluate AI/ML frameworks, including agentic AI, deep learning, and privacy-preserving methods, for threat detection and mitigation.
• Design, build, and evaluate agentic AI systems for cybersecurity use cases such as automated threat hunting, incident triage and response, and vulnerability assessment.
• Conduct rigorous experimental evaluations to benchmark AI performance and privacy safeguards in realistic cybersecurity environments.
• Supervise and guide undergraduate and graduate research assistants working on AI and cybersecurity initiatives.
• Author manuscripts for publication in peer-reviewed journals and top-tier conference proceedings, providing empirical benchmarks for the research community.

What This Job Offers

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