Postdoctoral Fellow

8:00 am-5:00 pm, Monday-Friday

The Postdoctoral appointee must have recently (within the last eight years) been awarded a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate (e.g., Sc.D., M.D.)

* Eligibility to work on U.S. government-funded projects.
* Direct experience with formal specification and verification tools (e.g., TLA+, Coq, SMT solvers, etc.) is strongly preferred.
* Familiarity with high-assurance languages or provably-correct software development.
* Knowledge of low-level hardware protocols (e.g., PCIe), computer architecture, or systems security.
* Understanding of vulnerability analysis or anomaly detection.

A Postdoctoral Fellow (""postdoc"") is a professional apprenticeship designed to provide recent Ph.D. recipients with an opportunity to develop further the research skills acquired in their doctoral programs or to learn new research techniques, in preparation for an academic or research career. In the process of further developing their own research skills, it is expected that Postdoctoral Fellows will also play a significant role in the performance of research at the University and augment the role of graduate faculty in providing research instruction to graduate students. A Postdoctoral Fellow works under the supervision of a regular faculty member, who serves as a mentor to the Fellow, and it is expected that the faculty mentor will impart the realities, and variety, of scientific careers, and will encourage experiences outside the laboratory to broaden postdocs' aspirations. Within the confines of the particular research focus assigned by that faculty member, the Postdoctoral Fellow functions with a considerable degree of independence and has the freedom (and is expected) to publish the results of his or her research or scholarship during the period of appointment. Thus, the role of Postdoctoral Fellows is clearly differentiated from full-time technical employees.

Postdoc appointments are characterized by all of the following conditions:

* the appointee was recently (within the last eight years) awarded a Ph.D. or equivalent doctorate (e.g., Sc.D., M.D.) in the field of Computer Science (or equivalent);
* the appointment is temporary;
* the appointment involves substantially full-time research or scholarship;
* the appointment is viewed as preparatory for a full-time academic and/or research career;
* the appointee works under the supervision of a faculty member; and
* the appointee has the freedom and is expected to publish the results of his or her research or scholarship during the period of appointment.

Project Description: Collaborate with the research team on DARPA's Bus-based Local Attack Detection and Elimination ( BLADE) program to secure critical bus systems. This position will lead the formal methods on verification thrust of the project, focusing on providing mathematical assurances for the security of bus-based communications.

* Formally model and verify the correctness of "Forensic Observation Data" (FODs) to ensure they accurately detect specified vulnerabilities.
* Investigate and define formal models of formal security properties of the PCIe bus and NVIDIA's DPU, CPU, and NIC for the purposes of security.
* Explore the use of high-assurance languages and toolchains for the implementation of a verified validation engine.
* Collaborate closely with our systems and cybersecurity teams to integrate formal analysis and verified components into the broader project.
* Publish research in top-tier security and formal methods conferences and journals.

This position, start date, and pay rate are contingent upon availability of research grant budget.

Application review anticipated to begin on January 15, 2026.

Include the following documents in the application:
1. A Curriculum Vitae (CV).
2. A cover letter detailing your specific experience with formal methods tools and your interest in systems security.
3. Contact information for three professional references.
4. One or two representative publications (preferably on formal verification or security).

The candidate chosen for this position will be required to provide an official transcript of their highest earned degree.

The candidate chosen for this position will be subject to a criminal background check.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate against employees or applicants for employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other protected status. In keeping with this commitment, UNC Charlotte ensures that persons of any background are invited, included, and treated equally in the terms and conditions of employment.