Job description

Job summary

Maximum starting Salary: £44,876

This post of Research Assistant (pre-doctoral) or Research Associate (post-doctoral) is to conduct world-leading research, under the direction of Professor Emil Lupu, on the resilience and safety of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) to cyber-attacks. In particular the work will seek to deliver novel contributions that enable such systems to safely continue to operate even when they have been partially compromised and facilitate a) continuous risk analysis in the face of adversarial threats taking into account the impact of security events across cascading interdependencies; b) characterising the attacks that can have an impact on the safety of the system, identifying the paths that make such attacks possible; c) identifying countermeasures that can be applied to mitigate threats and contain the impact of attacks; and d) ensuring that such countermeasures can be applied whilst preserving the system's safety, operational constraints and maximising its availability. These contributions will be evaluated across several test beds, digital twins, and a number of use-cases across different industry sectors. The successful candidate will be expected to collaborate closely with the research staff at the University of Bristol (project partners), as well as to work with the extensive group of project academic and industry external collaborators.

The post is based in the Department of Computing at Imperial College London. This is a leading department of Computer Science among UK Universities. The department has achieved top results in each of the research assessment exercises undertaken by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The successful applicant will join the Resilient Information Systems Security group, led by Professor Emil Lupu, www.rissgroup.org.

Duties and responsibilities

The position offers an exciting opportunity to conduct internationally leading and impactful research in security and safety of ICS and CPS. The Research Assistant/Associate will be responsible for researching implementing and delivering novel solutions at the intersection of safety, security, and (model-based) systems engineering, whilst applying systems analysis techniques based on formal methods, AI, graph analysis and optimisation and will be expected to submit publications to top-tier conferences and journals in computer security.

Essential requirements

As part of the conditions of the grant the preferred candidate is required to successfully undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standard check by DSTL[1] prior to receiving a contract of employment.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-science-and-technology-laboratory

To apply for this position, you must have a strong computer science background with a focus on computer security and (model-based) systems engineering and analysis, have experience, including a proven publication track-record, in this area and willingness to become familiar with the other techniques applicable. You should also have:

• A PhD degree (Research Associate) in computer science or a related area.
• A Master’s degree (Research Assistant) in computer science or a related area.
• Excellent software development and implementation skills.
• Familiarity with ICS and/or CPS.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work with others.
• Ability to organise your own work and set priorities to meet deadlines.

As part of the conditions of the grant the preferred candidate is required to successfully undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standard check by DSTL prior to receiving a contract of employment.

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD but are in the process of obtaining one will be appointed as Research Assistant within the salary range £38,194 - £41,388 per annum.

Further information

Maximum starting Salary: £44,876

We will be reviewing applications on a rolling basis and reserve the right to close the advert early if the position is filled. It is advisable that you submit your application as early as possible.

In addition to completing the online application, candidates should attach:

• A full CV, with a list of all publications
• A 2-page research statement indicating what you see are interesting research issues relating to the above post and why your expertise is relevant.

Informal enquiries related to the position should be directed to Prof. Emil Lupu: e.c.lupu@imperial.ac.uk

For queries regarding the application process contact Jamie Perrins: j.perrins@imperial.ac.uk

Documents

• ecl-JD- PostDoc RESICS V2.doc