Assistant Professorship (W2 Tenure Track) or University Professorship (W3) for "Cybersecurity a[...]

The Department of Computer Science at TU Darmstadt in cooperation with the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft seeks to fill the position of a

Assistant Professorship (W2 Tenure Track) or University Professorship (W3) for "Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence" (open rank)

About us

Technical University Darmstadt stands for excellent and relevant science. Global transformations - from the energy transition to Industry 4.0 and artificial intelligence - challenge us. We play a decisive role in shaping these far-reaching change processes through outstanding findings and forward-looking study programs. The Department of Computer Science in particular - founded in 1972, it is one of the first departments of computer science in Germany - covers a broad spectrum of topics in basic and applied research as well as in teaching. The main research areas include artificial intelligence, cyber security & privacy and complex, networked systems.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the world's leading organization for application-oriented research. With its focus on future-relevant key technologies and the exploitation of the results in business and industry, it plays a central role in the innovation process. It is a guide and source of inspiration for innovative developments and scientific excellence. With inspiring ideas and sustainable scientific-technological solutions, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft promotes science and industry and helps shape our society and our future.

About the professorship

The professorship is associated with the National Research Center for Applied Cybersecurity ATHENE. ATHENE is a research center of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft with involvement of the universities TU Darmstadt, Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, and Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences. ATHENE conducts application-oriented, cutting-edge research in the field of cybersecurity for the benefit of industry, society, and the state.

The professorship at TU Darmstadt will be filled according to the Berlin model and will take on a leading position at the Fraunhofer Institute for Secure Information Technology SIT in Darmstadt. The dual role comes with a reduced teaching obligation of two semester hours per week. An appropriate commitment to teaching in the Master's degree programs in Computer Science and IT Security is expected.

In addition, the professorship may become a member of the Hessian Center for Artificial Intelligence – hessian.AI. The center’s objective is to carry out excellent basic research and promote its transfer to industry and society. Based on cutting-edge research, significant contributions are made to the research and development of novel AI systems with human-like thinking and communication capabilities, which are attributed to the so-called "Third Wave of AI".

Your profile

We are looking for

• a candidate with internationally outstanding qualification in an early career phase with promising potential (W2 Tenure Track) or
• an experienced candidate with an outstanding scientific track record and international visibility (W3)

to represent the field of "Cybersecurity and Artificial Intelligence" in both research and teaching. The scientific focus of the position should be on application-oriented aspects of cybersecurity with strong references to machine learning and other artificial intelligence techniques, e.g.:

• Safeguarding AI processes and systems against cyberattacks;
• Analysis and defense against cyberattacks and attack methods that specifically exploit AI;
• Applying AI techniques to detect and analyze cyberattacks and to improve cybersecurity;
• Methods of AI, esp. machine learning with special security and privacy properties.

Applicants for a W2 assistant professorship with tenure track must have the potential to develop an outstanding academic profile in the field of cybersecurity. It is expected that current developments in another field of computer science that is important for cybersecurity or an application area with special security requirements (e.g., financial industry, healthcare, energy) will be part of the profile. Initial significant publications and experience in third-party funding and teaching are desirable.

Applicants for a W3 professorship must have an outstanding academic profile with highly visible research contributions in the field of cyber security. A research profile capable of interacting with current developments in another field of computer science relevant to cybersecurity or an application area with special security requirements (e.g., financial industry, healthcare, energy) is desirable. A proven track record of successful collaboration in international research teams, with industry, or across research disciplines is an advantage, as is experience in science management and leading large collaborative and industrial projects. In addition to excellent scientific qualifications, we are looking for an appropriate commitment to participate in academic self-administration.

TU Darmstadt and ATHENE are characterized by their internationality as part of the Frankfurt-Rhine-Main metropolitan region. A core element is a cosmopolitan climate with functional multilingualism at our university. Therefore, very good English and - after three years at the latest - good German language skills are expected.

We offer

TU Darmstadt and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft pursue a family-friendly personnel policy and offer their employees flexible working hours and support services for work-life balance. TU Darmstadt is certified as a family-friendly university and has a dual career service.

The assistant professorship is designated as a qualification professorship in accordance with § 70 HessHG (Hessisches Hochschulgesetz). Accordingly, academic activity during and after the doctorate should generally not exceed nine years, or the academic activity after the doctorate should not exceed four years. This maximum duration may be extended in the event of the birth, adoption or fostering of children. Furthermore, applicants should have completed their doctorate at a university other than TU Darmstadt or have been academically active outside TU Darmstadt for at least two years after completing their doctorate.

A tenure track is planned for the assistant professorship: After a successful probationary period of six years, there is an immediate transition to a permanent W3 professorship. For further information, please refer to the statutes for assistant professorships at the Technical University of Darmstadt.

For the W3 professorship, the recruitment requirements of §§ 67 and 68 HessHG (Hessisches Hochschulgesetz) apply.

TU Darmstadt and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are striving to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching and therefore expressly encourage qualified female scientists to apply. Applicants with a disability degree of at least 50 or equivalent will be given priority in hiring if they have the same professional qualifications and suitability as the other candidates.

Your application

Please send applications with the usual documents (letter of motivation, curriculum vitae, lists of publications and courses, certificates of academic examinations and appointments) and a substantiated self-assessment about the desired classification (W2 with tenure track or W3) to the Dean of the Department of Computer Science, Prof. Dr. Dr. Christian Reuter (dekanat@informatik.tu-… ), stating the mentioned code no.

For further information or questions, please contact Prof. Dr. Michael Waidner (michael.waidner@tu-… ) (professor of TU Darmstadt and CEO of ATHENE).

By submitting your application, you agree that your data will be stored and processed for the purpose of the recruitment process. You can find our privacy policy on our homepage. The application documents will be forwarded from TU Darmstadt to the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft in compliance with data protection regulations; information on the collection of personal data within the application process of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft can be found at https://www.fraunhofer.de/en/data-protection-policy.html