Assistant Professor In Formal Methods and Neuro-Symbolic AI

Introduction

Are you motivated by mission-driven research? Are you eager to design and analyze next-generation autonomous, self-healing systems? Are you excited to help shape one of the fastest‑growing and most transformative fields of our time? Are you interested in translating vision of zero-touch autonomous systems into tangible and actionable research goals, and willing to demonstrate and validate Zero-touch systems in practice? If so, we would welcome the opportunity to assess your potential fit for this role, which forms part of a broader recruitment effort involving three assistant professor vacancies.

Job Description

The Department of Mathematics and Computer Science is in the process of establishing a mission-driven and impactful collaboration on research and technology challenges of Zero-touch Systems. In this context, the department has a total of three vacancies at the assistant professor level. The mission of this joint multi-disciplinary research collaboration is to design, develop, verify, and validate the self-healing, autonomous systems of the future. This can only be achieved through a close interaction of various disciplines to ensure resiliency, intelligence, adaptation, security, and trust by design. The research is dedicated to the development of proven, integrated, and demonstrable solutions that advance autonomous systems to a level where their performance is rigorously always guaranteed and can be reliably trusted by humans.

The Zero-touch Systems research is expected to have significant societal impact and requires collaborative multi-disciplinary research to be successful. We expect outcome of this research to facilitate research, industry, and institutes nationally and worldwide to deploy and adopt the obtained research-based solutions. Participation in this research therefore requires strong commitment to work on impact-focused research, addressing scientific, technical and socio-technical challenges of Zero-touch systems.

We expect successful candidates to develop this mission-driven research program and create tangible societal impact through their research on, e.g.:

• Developing Agentic AI for enabling full autonomy of systems
• Developing "future-proof" methods for software engineering for autonomous systems
• Developing new methods to guarantee the safety and reliability of zero-touch systems

You will be evaluated on your achievements with respect to objectives and KPIs of the project and not only on traditional research metrics such as publications. You also play a leading role in building a community within and beyond the Department around the research questions and challenges of Zero-touch Systems.

The Formal System Analysis (FSA) Cluster studies formal techniques to model and analyze software and hardware systems. The goal is to develop techniques that are both mathematically elegant and practically effective. Techniques typically used are term rewriting, fixpoint logics, parity games, Markov models, SAT and SMT solving and symbolic state space representations. The group maintains several tools sets, such as mCRL2, Storm and Stark, which are used at several major industries and public bodies, generally as verification backends. The group has strong ties with industrial partners and actively strives to apply its methods in industrial contexts, fueling the economic and societal impact of the group.

This role is part of the FSA cluster within the department of Mathematics and Computer Science. Artificial Intelligence plays a central role in Zero-touch systems, enabling fast decision making in the many situations AI-enabled systems operate. However, ensuring reliability in uncertain or dynamic environments remains a significant challenge. The field of Formal Methods deals with theory and techniques for providing such guarantees.

This position focusses on the interdisciplinary area of Formal Methods and AI, developing theory and techniques to improve the reliability of autonomous and self-adapting systems by combining benefits from Formal Methods with the benefits of symbolic and sub-symbolic AI approaches. Examples include Runtime Verification and Shielding, reasoning about stochastics and Reinforcement Learning, Neuro-Symbolic AI, Neural Network Verification, and eXplainable AI. A strong background in the intersection of Formal Methods and AI is a prerequisite.

We expect successful candidates to develop and contribute to the department’s mission-driven Zero-touch Systems research, from scientific breakthroughs to societal impact, and specifically, to:

• Design and develop "future-proof" Neuro-Symbolic methods for Verification.
• Enable/facilitate/demonstrate development of (models for) Zero-touch Systems.
• Contribute to national/university scientific roadmaps in the area of Neuro-Symbolic AI.

Job Requirements

• Highly motivated researcher, with a PhD in Computer Science, Data Science, Electrical Engineering, or Mathematics with a strong publication record in the field of intelligent system design and engineering, software technology and verification, and outstanding research achievements and other indicators of international recognition;
• Strong achievements in terms of impact (beyond standard academic outreach such as publication in top venues). This requirement is especially in place because of the focus of the mission-driven research and impact of this position;
• Excellent engineering skills;
• Preferably at least 2 years of academic work experience after obtaining PhD;
• Ability to conduct high quality academic research, reflected in demonstratable outputs.
• Motivated to teach, contribute to teaching processes, and to develop excellent teaching skills.
• Excellent team player and strong cooperation skills and ability to work in an interdisciplinary team, substantiated by tangible evidence;
• Effective communication and leadership skills, including coaching and mentoring of students and staff, leading a project or chairing a group.
• Excellent (written and verbal) proficiency in English.

Conditions of Employment

A meaningful job in a dynamic and ambitious university, in an interdisciplinary setting and within an international network. You will work on a beautiful, green campus within walking distance of the central train station. In addition, we offer you:

• Salary in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities, scale 11 (min. €4.728, - max. €6.433,-).
• A year-end bonus of 8.3% and annual vacation pay of 8%.
• A dedicated mentoring program to help you get to know the university and the Dutch (research) environment.
• A Development Track with the prospect of becoming an Associate Professor. If you have a more senior profile, a tailor-made career proposal will be considered.
• High-quality training programs for academic leadership and teaching.
• An excellent technical infrastructure, on-campus children's day care and sports facilities.
• Unlimited access to the modern on‑campus TU/e Student Sports Center at an exceptionally affordable rate.
• Partially paid parental leave and an allowance for commuting, working from home and internet costs.
• A Staff Immigration Team is available for international candidates, as are a tax compensation scheme (the 30% facility) and partner career support.

On our website you can discover even more information about our conditions of employment. Build on your career at TU/e!

About us

We are a leading international university where scientific curiosity meets a hands-on mindset. We work in an open and collaborative way with high-tech industries to tackle complex societal challenges. Our responsible and respectful approach ensures impact — today and in the future. TU/e is home to over 13,000 students and more than 7,000 staff, forming a diverse and vibrant academic community.

Our university is located in Brainport Eindhoven — a world‑leading tech region with more than 7,000 high‑tech companies and strong R&D activity. Known for breakthroughs in AI, photonics, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, Brainport is a place where technology serves people and society. Learn more about the Brainport region here.

You will join the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (M&CS). With over 140 (assistant, associate and full) professors, almost 250 PhD and EngD students, nearly 3000 students, M&CS is the largest department of the TU/e. By performing top-level fundamental and applied research, and maintaining strong ties with industry, M&CS aims to contribute to science and innovation in and beyond the region.

Information

Do you recognize yourself in this profile and would you like to know more?
Please contact the hiring manager Prof. dr. Tim Willemse, Full Professor, [email protected].

Visit our website for more information about the application process. You can also contact Annette van Kamp-Rustenburg, Senior Recruiter, [email protected].

Curious to hear more about what it is like as a professor at TU/e? Please watch the video.

Are you inspired and would like to know more about working at TU/e? Please visit our career page.

Application

We invite you to submit a complete application. The application should include a:

• Cover letter in which you describe your motivation and qualifications for the position.
• Curriculum vitae, including a list of your publications and the contact information of three references. Kindly note that we may reach out to references at any stage of the recruitment process. We recommend notifying your references upon submitting your application.
• Description of your scientific interests and plans (1-2 pages).
• Statement of your teaching goals and experience (1-2 pages).

Ensure that you submit all the requested application documents. Please note that incomplete applications may not be considered and could be rejected.

Please note 

• You can apply online. We will not process applications sent by email and/or post. 
• A pre-employment screening (e.g. knowledge security check) can be part of the selection procedure. For more information on the knowledge security check, please consult the National Knowledge Security Guidelines.
• Please do not contact us for unsolicited services.