Research position in Automated Assistants for Actionable Security.

Research position in Automated Assistants for Actionable Security.

Join to apply for the Research position in Automated Assistants for Actionable Security role at Fondazione Bruno Kessler - FBK

Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) is a private research institution devoted to excellence in research in numerous disciplines and designated to the role of keeping the Autonomous Province of Trento in the mainstream of European and international research. Each research area is assigned to a specific research Centre, of which there are twelve totals. Information regarding the research Centres, their activities and production are available at http://www.fbk.eu/research-centers.

In particular, FBK Cyber Security Centre (CS) develops digital technology and cyber security to foster collaboration between the various stakeholders through a combination of IT risk management techniques and trust management techniques. As part of the FBK mission, the Center's mission is to make these techniques available to the largest number of organizations, including SMEs. By integrating automated cyber risk assessment support with trust management that can produce operational suggestions to assist ICT solutions designers, developers and administrators in their daily activities is critical.

Workplace Description

The candidate will be working in the Security & Trust Research Unit (ST). ST researchers develop innovative tools for the (automatic) validation of security protocols. One such tool is TLSAssistant, which automates the security assessment of cloud infrastructures by utilizing international technical guidelines to validate and promote a secure deployment free of vulnerabilities and misconfigurations. TLSAssistant also generates actionable reports to guide service providers. In the context of the project IPCEI-CIS, TLSAssistant will be integrated into cloud infrastructures to secure container-to-container and cloud-native transmissions. The ST research unit of FBK-CS is looking to hire a dynamic and highly motivated developer to support research in the design and development of tools for the automatic validation of security protocols (spanning from TLS, SSH and QUIC). The aim is to assist users in developing correct implementations and configurations, identifying vulnerabilities, and proposing countermeasures to mitigate them.

Job Description

Within FBK’s Tenure Track program, we seek a dynamic, highly motivated researcher in Cyber Security with a focus on assisted security and compliance assessment of cryptographic protocols for digital identity solutions or distributed systems based on a Zero Trust architecture. The role involves design, implementation, validation and integration of innovative methodologies capable of automating conformance and compliance assessments of secure communication protocols.

Job responsibilities

• Conduct research and innovative activities in the broad area of Cyber Security with a focus on assisted security and compliance assessment of cryptographic protocols in the context of cloud-edge infrastructures.
• Participate in research and innovation projects, including collaborations with national and international bodies.
• Contribute to the center's publications with a good degree of autonomy, proposing innovative topics at the group level.
• Contribute to the center's sustainability by acquiring project funding and fostering collaborations.
• Contribute to communication and dissemination of research outputs by engaging at national and international events.
• Co‑advise students at Bachelor, Master, and PhD levels.

Job requirements

• PhD in Cybersecurity or related fields.
• A relevant record of publications in high-impact journals and top-level conferences related to the position.
• Research experience in automated analysis of network security protocols, vulnerabilities detection and actionable mitigations in cryptographic protocols (e.g., TLS).
• Experience with analysis of security policies and conformance requirements for cryptographic protocols (e.g., VPNs).
• Experience studying PKI and trust management models (e.g., those based on OpenID Federation) and analysis of revocation mechanisms in X.509 certificates and Digital Credentials for digital wallets (e.g., EUDI Wallet).
• Intellectual autonomy and strong commitment to achieving assigned objectives and applying research results to real-world applications.
• Excellent problem‑solving skills and result orientation.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Good team working attitude.
• Good self‑organization and autonomous operation.
• Language assessment according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR): knowledge of English must be equal to or exceed level B2.

Additional requirements:

• Teaching experience in security-related topics.
• Previous experience as a speaker at national and international conferences.
• Previous experience in designing and executing user studies.
• Previous experience with international research projects (EU Horizon, ERC, national or industry-funded) with evidence of contribution to system design, implementation, or security evaluation.
• Experience in mentoring and co‑advising Bachelor, Master, and PhD students.
• Previous experience with dissemination events related to cybersecurity awareness.

Employment

• Type of contract: Tenure Track contract, leading to an FBK 3rd Level Researcher (R3) permanent contract.
• Working hours: full-time (38 h per week).
• Duration: The duration of the Tenure Track contract will be determined by the Committee based on the scientific objectives and assigned KPIs (at least one year, which may be reduced in accordance with the Committee assessment). If the final assessment is positive, the candidate will be offered a permanent R3 contract.
• Current gross annual remuneration: Euro 44.087,26 corresponding to a Third level Researcher.
• Benefits: flexi‑time, company subsidised cafeteria or meal vouchers, internal car park, welcome office support for visa formalities and research accommodation, supplementary pension (Resaver, Laborfonds) and health fund (Sanifonds), family‑work balance, free training courses, support on bank account opening, discount on public transport, sport, language course fees, counselling and psychological support service.

Application

Interested candidates are requested to submit their application by completing the online form: https://jobs.fbk.eu/