Postdoctoral Researcher in Developing Large Language Models for Cyber Security Problems

1 Mar 2024
Job Information

Organisation/Company

Tallinn University of Technology

Department

Department of Software Science

Research Field

Computer science » Other

Researcher Profile

Recognised Researcher (R2)

Country

Estonia

Application Deadline

28 Mar 2024 - 23:59 (Europe/Helsinki)

Type of Contract

Temporary

Job Status

Full-time

Hours Per Week

40

Offer Starting Date

1 Sep 2024

Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme?

Not funded by an EU programme

Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

Offer Description

The Department of Software Science of TalTech invites applications to fill in a postdoctoral researcher position. The position is formed under the framework of EXAI – the Estonian Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence.

The goals of the post are to:

• conduct research on machine learning in the context of cyber security;
• disseminate research results in top-tier conferences and journals;
• help to supervise graduate students in the Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security and have the opportunity to contribute to teaching.

CONTEXT

Large language models (LLMs) using generative methods have marked another milestone in the development of AI, demonstrating outstanding performance across a variety of text-based tasks. The initial applications of these methods in cyber security have addressed problems such as conducting security reviews of software or identifying anomalies in security logs. The application of LLMs in this domain is still in the infancy stage. Other areas, such as security incident handling, vulnerability assessment, security testing, threat analysis and cyber threat intelligence, may greatly benefit from LLMs by increasing automation in the corresponding security processes.

It is a significant challenge to leverage LLMs to extract more structured representations from the raw security data (e.g., network traffic, OS and application logs) and enrich it by correlating with other text-based security resources for advanced security analysis tasks. LLMs can also be utilised to optimise the performance of existing security tools. They can be instrumental not only in analysis tasks but also in recommending possible courses of action.

Training domain-specific models, fine-tuning the general-purposed models or applying various optimisation techniques during the model inference phase (e.g., prompting, augmented retrieval) would be some general strategies to fulfil the purpose.

The main expectation from this post-doc position is to play a significant role in advancing the research centre's capabilities around applying the LLMs to cyber security problems. Conducting innovative research activities and proposal preparations for securing funds constitute the primary responsibilities of this position. We seek a candidate who excels in cooperating with an interdisciplinary team of cyber security experts, computer scientists and industrial partners.

Employment contract period: 1 September 2024 - 31 August 2026.
Monthly gross salary for the position: 3000 euros.
Contact person for further information: Rain Ottis, [email protected] .

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

To apply for the job, please send the following documents in English by 28 March 2024 at the latest by clicking the application link :

• a motivation letter; 
• documents proving that the candidate holds the required academic degree for the position applied; 
• a CV, including a list of publications;
• an academic portfolio, including a motivated self-evaluation regarding compliance with the requirements for the researcher position set out in the Academic Career Management Regulation, Annex 3 “Academic Evaluation Matrix ” (shall be submitted by a university staff member only) or a free format evaluation of the academic activity undertaken so far and the competencies required for work (shall be submitted by an external candidate only) detailing how the candidate meets the qualifications of the position; 
• other documents considered important by the candidate.

Regarding further information on the application documents and recruitment process please contact TalTech HR [email protected] .

Requirements

Research Field

Computer science » Other

Education Level

PhD or equivalent

Specific Requirements

• PhD degree in Computer Science or a closely related field.
• Has published work in one or more of the following fields: machine learning, cyber security, network monitoring.
• Is motivated to perform interdisciplinary research across the boundaries of the above three sub-disciplines.
• Teaching experience at university level is a plus.
• Advanced English is required, Estonian language is a plus.

Languages

ENGLISH

Level

Excellent

Additional Information
Benefits

TalTech has a green and one of the most compact university campuses in Europe that includes the Tehnopol Tallinn Science Park. Low hierarchy, academic freedom and a balanced work and family life are valued at TalTech. The university provides individual development and training opportunities, material and non-material tokens of acknowledgement, sporting opportunities at TalTech Sports Club and all-staff activities. 

Additional comments

Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) is the flagship in engineering and IT science and education in Estonia, providing higher education at all levels in engineering and technology, information technology, economics, science, and maritime. TalTech’s mission is to be a promoter of science, technology, and innovation and a leading provider of engineering and economic education in Estonia. The university has over 2000 employees and over 10 000 students, and approximately 70 000 alumni.

The Department of Software Science was established on January 1, 2017 as part of the structural reform of Tallinn University of Technology. The purpose of the research groups at the Department of Software Science is to advance internationally and nationally relevant state of the art in research in the areas of computer science, information systems, data science, artificial intelligence and cyber defence.

The Centre for Digital Forensics and Cyber Security is a research group in the Department of Software Science. It is primarily responsible for the cyber security research field in TalTech, covering topics like cryptography, network security and digital forensics. 

Work Location(s)

Number of offers available

1

Company/Institute

Tallinn University of Technology

Country

Estonia

State/Province

Other / Non-US

City

Tallinn

Postal Code

12618

Street

Akadeemia tee 15A, zip code 12618

Where to apply

Website

https://taltech.recrur.com/public/link/tallinna-tehnikaulikool-postdoctoral-res…

Contact

City

Tallinn

Website

https://taltech.ee/en

Street

Ehitajate tee 5

Postal Code

19086

E-Mail

[email protected]

STATUS: EXPIRED