Postdoctoral Research Associate in Robust and Trustworthy Generative AI

1000scholars; Liverpool; On-site; GBP 41,000 - 47,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Liverpool invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate to advance research on robustness, verification, evaluation and monitoring of Generative AI and Agentic AI systems within the School of Computer Science and Informatics.

The successful candidate will publish in top venues, collaborate with UK and European partners, and contribute to software tools and benchmark datasets, with a fixed-term contract up to 31 May 2028.

Qualifications

• PhD (awarded or near completion) in Computer Science or a closely related field.
• Strong publication record in AI/ML, formal methods, or related areas.
• Proficiency in Python and AI/ML tooling.
• Excellent written and spoken communication skills.

Responsibilities

• Conduct independent research on robustness, verification, evaluation and monitoring of GenAI/Agentic AI systems.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners across the UK and Europe.
• Publish high-impact papers and develop software tools and benchmark datasets.

Skills

GenAI research

Probabilistic reasoning

Formal methods

AI safety

Scientific writing

Education

PhD in Computer Science or related field

Tools

Python

PyTorch

Job description

Tenure: Fixed term up to 31st May 2028

The University of Liverpool is seeking an outstanding and highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the School of Computer Science and Informatics. The successful candidate will contribute to cutting-edge research on the robustness, verification, evaluation and monitoring of Generative AI (GenAI) and Agentic AI systems.

The research will focus on developing novel methods to specify, assess, verify and monitor AI systems, with an emphasis on approaches that can provide formal or statistical guarantees. Particular interests include the assessment of rare-event risks in both technical and societal contexts, probabilistic reasoning, AI safety, AI alignment, runtime monitoring, and trustworthy deployment of AI-enabled systems.

The position offers the opportunity to work within a vibrant interdisciplinary research environment spanning machine learning, formal methods, statistics, software engineering and symbolic reasoning. The successful candidate will collaborate with leading academic and industrial partners across the UK and Europe and contribute to high-impact publications, software tools and benchmark datasets.

Applicants should have:

A PhD (awarded or near completion) in Computer Science or a closely related field.

A strong publication record in one or more of:

• Formal Methods and AI
• Neural-Symbolic AI
• Certification of Learning
• Runtime Monitoring or AI Guardrails
• Software Engineering for AI
• AI Alignment
• Expertise in probability and statistics.
• Strong programming skills, particularly for AI/ML research.
• Excellent communication and scientific writing skills.

Experience publishing in leading venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, IJCAI, ICSE, CAV, TACAS or ASE would be advantageous.

Informal enquiries may be directed to Huang, Xiaowei, email: [e-mail].

If you are still awaiting your PhD to be awarded you will be appointed at Grade 6, spine point 30. Upon written confirmation that you have been awarded your PhD, your salary will be increased to Grade 7, spine point 31.

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

We are committed to enhancing a workforce as diverse as our community and particularly encourage applicants who are of minoritised genders and ethnic backgrounds, living with a disability, and/or are members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

£40,704 to £46,970 per annum (Grade 7)