Postdoc in AI for cybersecurity of communication software

Postdoc in AI for cybersecurity of communication software

Linkoping

Reference number IDA-2026-00101

We have the power of over 40,000 students and co-workers. Students who provide hope for the future. Co-workers who contribute to Linköping University meeting challenges of today. Our fundamental values rest on credibility, trust and security. By having the courage to think freely and innovate, our actions together, large and small, contribute to a better world. We look forward to receiving your application!

Work assignments 

AIR² is a five-year multidisciplinary national project financed by the Wallenberg AI, Autonomous systems, and Software Program  (WASP) whereby you will have the opportunity of collaboration with top researchers within cybersecurity, networking, AI planning, and cloud computing, both within our department and two other universities in Sweden (KTH and Umeå University). The project is coordinated by Professor Simin Nadjm-Tehrani within the Cybersecurity division at Linköping University, and aims to understand the cybersecurity challenges in software-intensive and high-performance communication networks using AI-powered methods.

We will advance the research front in defending future generation networks by:

• prevention of cyberthreats through anticipating and mitigating them,
• accurate detection of ongoing attacks with well-understood AI methods used for system and network monitoring,
• (partially) autonomous and explainable reaction to attacks in presence of resource trade-offs and complex potential changes over time (concept drift).

The project is financed by a NEST grant within WASP. In this project we are looking for an excellent candidate who has a strong background in the following areas as evidenced by earlier research publications; Creation of virtualised container-based testbeds for experimental research on network security, integration of industrial use cases and digital twins, AI-based domain-specific emulations for new generation networks, attack generation and detection in virtualised 5G networks.

As postdoc, you will principally carry out research. A certain amount of teaching may be part of your duties, up to a maximum of 20% of working hours.

Qualifications

To be qualified to take employment as postdoc, you must have been awarded a doctoral degree or have a foreign degree that is deemed to be equivalent to a doctoral degree. This degree must have been awarded at the latest by the point at which LiU makes its decision to employ you.

It is considered advantageous if your doctoral degree is no older than three years at application deadline for this job. If there are special reasons for having an older doctoral degree - such as taking statutory leave - then these may be taken into consideration.

The area of the PhD degree is expected to be computer science but related topic areas in the engineering or mathematics fields can be considered together with extensive experience in software development related to the above areas.

Publications in first class journals and highly competitive conferences in areas relevant to the work, i.e. network modelling and protocol emulation in virtualised platforms, security analysis, adversarial AI attacks and defences, intrusion detection, load management in mobile edge networks, or denial-of-service detection are considered as a merit. Earlier experience in cybersecurity tool development, virtualised networking test beds, application of statistical or AI methods for load monitoring and performance tuning, and anomaly detection are prioritized.

Excellent communication skills in English, both verbally and written, is an absolute necessity. Good inter-personal skills and ability to work in teams but also independently is highly valued. During the AIR² project, meetings with the industrial collaborators will be for the most part in Swedish and working knowledge of the Swedish language for collaboration with the stakeholders is beneficial.

The workplace

You will be employed in the Cybersecurity division with close to 50 members at the department of Computer and Information Science (IDA) . You will work together with Simin Nadjm-Tehrani, professor in dependable systems and networks, within the research group Trustworthy systems that has around 20 members. The group participates in several national and international collaborations, including the newly funded centre RESIST that brings together leading researchers in AI and cybersecurity to develop novel solutions to cyber-resilient AI for the benefit of Swedish industry and society. As a junior researcher a postdoc will be offered the opportunity to mature in an internationally renowned research environment with excellent facilities and a wide network of collaboration in industry and academia

Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program is Sweden’s largest individual research program ever, a major national initiative for strategically motivated basic research, education and faculty recruitment. The vision of WASP is excellent research and competence in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and software for the benefit of Swedish industry. Read more:  ?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwasp-sweden.org%2F&module=jobs&id=3224093" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwasp-sweden.org%2F&module=jobs&id=3224093" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://wasp-sweden.org/

Linköping University is an AI research excellence centre with strong and broad research and education in AI both from a technical and interdisciplinary perspective. Coordinator of TrustLLM a large EU project developing trustworthy and factual language models. Host of the largest basic research program in Sweden Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP) as well as the Wallenberg AI and Transformative Technologies Education Development Program (WASP-ED). Host of the National Academic Infrastructure for Supercomputing in Sweden (NAISS) including a EuroHPC (Arrhenius) and an AI Factory (Mimer).

Cybersecurity research at LiU focuses on securing the most critical functions of digital society. Through numerous national and European projects, methods are developed for areas such as verification, intrusion detection, and AI-based cybersecurity. The research also encompasses the protection of critical infrastructure, including smart grids and secure software supply chains. At the university’s cybersecurity lab, vulnerabilities in isolated systems are analyzed to pioneer new research methods and train both students and professionals. 

The opportunity to work in a friendly atmosphere and strengthen the excellent research ongoing in the group together with existing and forthcoming PhD candidates is a natural attribute of this research project. We welcome candidates who are looking for a future career in academia or public/private sector research positions in Sweden and are looking to grow as a researcher in our environment. The candidate is given the chance of, and training in pedagogical development and contribution towards acquiring research grants by the senior faculty members.

Read more about our activities at  ?url=https%3A%2F%2Fliu.se%2Fen%2Fresearch%2Fcybersecurity&module=jobs&id=3224093" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">?url=https%3A%2F%2Fliu.se%2Fen%2Fresearch%2Fcybersecurity&module=jobs&id=3224093" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://liu.se/en/research/­cybersecurity  and  ?url=www.rics.se&module=jobs&id=3224093" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">?url=www.rics.se&module=jobs&id=3224093" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.rics.se .

The employment

This employment is a temporary contract of two years with the possibility of extension up to a total maximum of three years. The employment as postdoc is full-time.

Starting June 2026, by agreement.

This position may come to be a security classified position. If so, security screening including a records check will be carried out before any decision on employment is made.

Salary and employment benefits

The university applies individual salaries. State your desired salary in the application.

More information about employee benefits is available  here .

Union representatives

Information about union representatives, see  Help for applicants .

Application procedure

Apply for the position by clicking the "Apply" button. Your application must be received no later than April 30, 2026.

Applications and documents received after the date above will not be considered. 

In your application  which you fill in using the provided template,  please include an academic CV that lists your publications with DOIs, and a pdf copy of (or a link to) your PhD thesis. Also include a personal letter of at most two pages, explaining your motivation, research goals, and why you consider yourself a good fit for the advertised position. 
 
In the event of a discrepancy between the English translation of the job announcement and the Swedish original, the Swedish version shall take precedent. 

We welcome applicants with different backgrounds, experiences and perspectives - diversity enriches our work and helps us grow. Preserving everybody’s equal value, rights and opportunities is a natural part of who we are. Read more about our work with: Equal opportunities .

We look forward to receiving your application!

Linköping university has framework agreements and wishes to decline direct contacts from staffing- and recruitment companies as well as vendors of job advertisements.

Contact persons

Elin Ånell

HR administrator

elin.anellliu.se

Simin Nadjm-Tehrani

Professor

+46 702 282412

simin.nadjm-tehraniliu.se

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