Job Purpose

In areas throughout society, such as healthcare, finance, e-commerce, crime prevention, education, manufacturing and entertainment, algorithms, processes and systems are being built around the use of AI in order to make predictions, recommendations and decisions.  Yet often little is understood about the theoretical and foundational properties of these systems that may impact on our lives.

We are seeking applications from individuals whose research focuses on the formal analysis of such AI systems, with the aim of proving that these systems are responsible, unbiased, trustworthy, secure and robust against adversarial behaviour.  These proof techniques could include, but are not limited to, formal verification (including model checking, theorem proving and SMT solving), formal theories to understand AI optimisation, generalisation, and internal representations, and may involve proving properties about the underlying deep neural networks.

The successful applicant will be a member of the Formal Analysis, Theory and Algorithms (FATA) section, whose members are engaged in world-leading research on formal methods, programming language foundations and algorithms.  It is expected that the post-holder will collaborate closely with the Information, Data and Analysis (IDA) section, which includes four world-leading research groups in data systems, human-computer interaction & machine learning, information retrieval, and computer vision & autonomous systems, as well as with the GLAsgow Systems Section (GLASS), which includes expertise in cybersecurity and adversarial AI.  Particular areas where collaboration would be welcomed are computer vision, information retrieval, natural language processing and inference, and cybersecurity.  There are also opportunities to collaborate with colleagues in the School of Mathematics and Statistics, where research on Foundational AI is being actively pursued.

Purely as a guide, candidates might typically have published in conferences such as ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, CAV, CADE and AAAI, and in journals such as JMLR, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, TOCL and JAR.

The postholder will develop, lead and sustain research of international standard in Computing Science; contribute to teaching, assessment, project supervision and curriculum design at undergraduate and postgraduate levels; and participate in School management and organisation.  We expect that the postholder will contribute to teaching for the BSc / MSci degree programme in Artificial Intelligence, which the School intends to introduce in September 2026.

For appointment at Reader you will have an outstanding track record of national and international distinction and leadership in research, including publications, income, and awards, bringing external recognition and distinction to yourself and the University.

The University of Glasgow, established in 1451, is a member of the UK's Russell Group of leading universities.  The University is committed to enhancing its position as one of the world's great broad-based research-intensive universities.

The position is equivalent to US tenure track Assistant or Associate Professor.

For appointment at Grade 8:

To develop, lead and sustain research and scholarship of international standard and contribute to the delivery of an excellent student experience by delivering, organising and reviewing agreed teaching, assessment and administration processes to enhance learning and teaching in the School of Computing Science.

For appointment at Grade 9:

To make a substantial and positive contribution to the strategic direction of the School/College through leading and contributing to world-changing and internationally-competitive research, high quality teaching at both undergraduate and postgraduate level, securing research funding, and providing academic leadership and management within the School/College.  To actively engage in relationships with external stakeholders that advance knowledge exchange, public understanding and outreach.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Perform the following range of activities:

1. Develop, lead and sustain personal and group research in Foundational AI, aligned appropriately to School/College research strategy.

2. Enhance your research profile, reputation and esteem through:

- Establishing and sustaining a track record of independent and joint publications of international quality in high quality refereed journals, generating research impact in terms of economic/societal benefit;

- Presentation at international and national conferences and at internal/external seminars, colloquia and workshops;

- Identification of potential funding sources and the development of proposals to secure funding from internal/external bodies to support future research;

- Developing and maintaining collaborations with colleagues across the School/College/University and external Academic and Industrial Partners;

- Contribution to team/group meetings/seminars/workshops and activities to enhance the wider knowledge, outputs and culture of the School/College.

3. Contribute to the planning, organisation and delivery of high quality teaching, supervision and assessment activities across under/post-graduate programmes within the Subject/School.

4. Contribute to the on-going development and design of under/post-graduate curricula, to ensure a research-led approach to student learning and assessment in the discipline and/or profession.

5. Manage a variety of academic administrative activities, including timely delivery of effective and constructive feedback on assessment, and provision of pastoral support.

6. Contribute to the management and organisational duties of the School, as assigned by the Head of School.

7. Engage in personal, professional and career development.

8. Contribute to the enhancement of the University’s international profile in line with the University’s Strategic Plan – World Changers Together: https://www.gla.ac.uk/explore/strategy.

For appointment at Grade 8:

9. Demonstrate enhanced leadership, academic responsibility and strategic management, particularly through internationally leading research, outputs and funding.

For appointment at Grade 9:

10. In addition, demonstrate a distinctive contribution to the academic community through a leading role nationally and internationally e.g., shaping research agendas, advising review panels and funders.

For appointment at Reader:

11. Excel significantly in generation of research, outputs, funding, supervision, and knowledge exchange/impact.

Knowledge, Qualifications, Skills and Experience

Knowledge/Qualifications

Essential:

A1 Relevant PhD or equivalent experience within formal verification and/or formal analysis of AI systems.

A2 Significant breadth/depth of knowledge in Foundational AI, which complements the existing strengths of the FATA section.

A3 A growing international reputation, evidenced by esteem indicators, in an area that matches or enhances existing activities in research related to Foundational AI within the School.

For appointment at Grade 9/Reader:

A4 An extensive and established reputation in research and/or teaching within Computing Science as evidenced by esteem indicators.

Skills

Essential:

C1 Ability, drive and influence to develop an international research profile.

C2 Research creativity and strong cross-discipline collaborative ability as appropriate.

C3 Excellent communication skills, with ability to communicate complex data/concepts clearly and concisely.

C4 Excellent interpersonal skills and a collegiate approach.

C5 Appropriate workload/time/project/budget/people management skills.

C6 Extensive IT and data analysis/interpretation skills.

C7 Good team leadership skills including demonstrable supervisory skills.

C8 A strong commitment to high quality, research led, student orientated teaching and proven ability to engage students to inspire learning, and to provide pastoral care to students.

For appointment at Grade 8/9/Reader:

C9 Excellent leadership skills, able to develop early career academic colleagues and manage a research team.

C10 Excellent influencing and collaboration skills to facilitate shaping the research agenda of the academic community and funders.

C11 Exceptional commitment to high quality teaching, enthusing students and inspiring learning.

Experience

Essential:

E1 Sufficient depth of relevant research experience including postdoctoral experience, appropriate to an early-career researcher.

E2 Evidence of a track record of presentations and publications in formal verification and/or formal analysis of AI systems.

E3 Experience in undertaking independent research and contributing to successful funding applications.

E4 Track record of development and delivery of teaching at undergraduate or postgraduate level.

For appointment at Grade 8:

E5 Strong track record of undertaking research, publishing in high impact journals at national and international level, and in attracting external research funding.

E6 Excellent track record of contribution to academic and administration activities in a research-led institution.

For appointment at Grade 9/Reader:

E7 Evidence the above criteria to a higher degree, particularly in generation of research, outputs, funding, supervision, and knowledge exchange/impact.

Terms and Conditions

Salary will be Grade 7/8/9, £40,497 - £45,413 / £49,559 - £57,422 / £59,139 - £66,537 per annum.

This post is full time (35 hours per week) and is open ended.

Vacancy reference number: 169711

Closing date: 18 April 2025 at 23:45 GMT