PhD Candidate in AI and Hardware Security

1000scholars; Amsterdam; On-site; EUR 38,000 - 49,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Amsterdam's Parallel Computing Systems group seeks a motivated researcher to secure AI hardware by studying vulnerabilities across algorithms, software and hardware levels and developing practical countermeasures. The project includes hands-on hardware lab work and close supervision.

You will contribute to designing security evaluations on AI platforms (NPUs, GPUs), publish results at leading venues, and complete a PhD thesis within four years while assisting in teaching

Qualifications

• MSc in computer science or a related field.
• Strong background and interest in AI and hardware security.
• Demonstrated ability to perform research (e.g., publications or Master thesis).
• Willingness to collaborate with other researchers.
• Professional command of English and presentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Designing and carrying out security evaluations on AI algorithms and hardware, such as model extraction, fault injection, and side-channel analysis, on platforms including NPUs, GPUs and other AI chips;
• Investigating how vulnerabilities arise and how weaknesses at the algorithm, software, and hardware levels interact, and developing models and tools to explain these mechanisms;
• Developing models and tools to explain why these vulnerabilities arise. Designing hardware-aware countermeasures that are robust, low-overhead and practical to deploy;
• Validating your methods experimentally on real device in hardware lab, not only in simulation;
• Publishing your results in leading international conference and journals, and completing a PhD thesis within four years;
• Presenting your work at international venues and helping to build collaborations with academic and industrial partners;
• Contributing to teaching (about 10% of your time), for example as a teaching assistant or by supervising Bachelor and Master students.

Skills

AI security

Hardware security

Research ability

English communication

Education

MSc in computer science or related field

Job description

Are you passionate about uncovering and addressing vulnerabilities in AI systems, from algorithms to hardware?

Join Us!

We are looking for a highly motivated candidate with a computer security and/or machine learning background to join the Parallel Computing Systems (PCS) group at the University of Amsterdam.

We look for vulnerabilities of AI systems across the whole AI system: from adversarial examples, backdoors and model extraction attacks to physical side-channel and fault injection attacks on AI chips. We build defenses that are both robust and efficient. A strong background in machine learning, hardware or security, together with the drive to develop expertise in the other areas, is highly valued. You'll get hands-on access to the hardware lab and close supervision.

This is what you will do

In this project, you will work to secure AI hardware by investigating vulnerabilities at the algorithm, software, and hardware levels and developing countermeasures to address them. You will study how weaknesses in one layer can be exploited through another. For example, side-channel leakage from an accelerator can be used to extract neural network parameters.

Tasks and responsibilities

• designing and carrying out realistic security evaluations on AI algorithms and hardware, such as model extraction, fault injection, and side-channel analysis, on platforms including NPUs, GPUs and other AI chips;
• investigating how vulnerabilities arise and how weaknesses at the algorithm, software, and hardware levels interact, and developing models and tools to explain these mechanisms;
• developing models and tools to explain why these vulnerabilities arise. Designing hardware-aware countermeasures that are robust, low-overhead and practical to deploy;
• validating your methods experimentally on real device in hardware lab, not only in simulation;
• publishing your results in leading international conference and journals, and completing a PhD thesis within four years;
• presenting your work at international venues and helping to build collaborations with academic and industrial partners;
• contributing to teaching (about 10% of your time), for example as a teaching assistant or by supervising Bachelor and Master students.

What we ask of you

Your experience and profile

• an MSc in computer science or a related field;
• a strong background and interest in AI and hardware security;
• a demonstrated ability to perform research (for instance in the form of publications or a Master thesis);
• the willingness to work collaboratively with other researchers;
• professional command of English and presentation skills

This is what we offer you

A temporary contract for 38 hours per week for the duration of 4 years (the initial contract will be for a period of 18 months and after satisfactory evaluation it will be extended for a total duration of 4 years). The preferred starting date is as soon as possible. This should lead to a dissertation (PhD thesis). We will draft an educational plan that includes attendance of courses and (international) meetings. We also expect you to assist in teaching undergraduates and master students.

The gross monthly salary, based on 38 hours per week and dependent on relevant experience, ranges between € 3,204 to € 4,051 (scale P). This does not include 8% holiday allowance and 8,3% year-end allowance. The UFO profile PhD Candidate is applicable. A favourable tax agreement, the '30% ruling', may apply to non-Dutch applicants. The Collective Labour Agreement of Universities of the Netherlands is applicable.

You will work in this team

The Faculty of Science has a student body of around 8,000, as well as 1,800 members of staff working in education, research or support services. Researchers and students at the Faculty of Science are fascinated by every aspect of how the world works, be it elementary particles, the birth of the universe or the functioning of the brain.

The mission of the Informatics Institute (IvI) is to perform curiosity-driven and use-inspired fundamental research in Computer Science. The main research themes are Artificial Intelligence, Computational Science and Systems and Network Engineering. Our research involves complex information systems at large, with a focus on collaborative, data-driven, computational and intelligent systems, all with a strong interactive component.

The Parallel Computing Systems (PCS) group at the University of Amsterdam performs research on the design, programming and run-time management of parallel and distributed computer systems. The modelling, analysis and optimization of the extra-functional aspects of these systems, such as performance, power/energy consumption, thermals, reliability, and security but also the degree of productivity to design and program these systems, play a pivotal role in this work.

We accept applications until and including 25 October 2026.