Postdoctoral Research Associate in Robust and Trustworthy Generative AI

University of Liverpool; West Kirby; On-site; GBP 36,000 - 48,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Liverpool invites applications for a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the School of Computer Science and Informatics. You will join a vibrant research team focusing on the robustness, verification, evaluation and monitoring of Generative AI and Agentic AI systems.

You will contribute to methods to specify, assess, verify and monitor AI systems, with formal or statistical guarantees, and collaborate with partners across the UK and Europe on publications and tools.

Qualifications

• PhD 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.
• Experience publishing in venues such as NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, IJCAI, ICSE, CAV, TACAS or ASE advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to cutting-edge research on robustness, verification, evaluation and monitoring of GenAI and Agentic AI systems.
• Develop novel methods to specify, assess, verify and monitor AI systems with formal or statistical guarantees.
• Collaborate with academic and industrial partners across the UK and Europe and contribute to publications, software tools and datasets.

Skills

Programming for AI/ML research

Academic writing

Publications in top venues

Probability and statistics

Communication skills

Education

PhD in Computer Science or closely related field

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: .

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.