Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Job no: 514897
Work type: Fixed term - Full-time
Campus: Adelaide
Categories: Level A, Level B, Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

(Level A/B) 98,574 to $115,090 per annum plus an employer contribution of 17% superannuation will apply.

Research Engineer/Post-Doctoral Fellow in Software Engineering/Software Security/Fuzzing

2 years fixed-term position to work on a research project in the areas of high performance system emulation, fuzzing, software security and automated software vulnerabilities discovery.

This is an opportunity for a high-achieving postdoctoral researcher to join a world-leading research group in Computer Security and Machine Learning as well as Computer Science department ranked 48th in the world.

You will join an ongoing research program to address the problems in software-based full system emulation for large scale automated dynamic analysis of software. The project aims to improve vulnerability detection in arbitrary binary targets where hardware-assisted instrumentation is unavailable/infeasible (e.g., embedded systems). You will be involved in the development of techniques for improving performance of system emulation software and/or theory, techniques (such as fuzzing), tools for discovering bugs and vulnerabilities in software binaries.

In this role you will have the options to pursue one or more of the following:

• Investigate and develop new ideas and concepts for full system emulation for large scale automated dynamic analysis of software binaries. Implement, assess and benchmark methods.
• Investigate and develop techniques and/or optimisation methods for improving performance of system emulation software (in areas such as JIT compilation, memory management, Linux sys calls, CPU emulation, etc.)
• Investigate, design and develop a (semi) automated fuzzing techniques for automated dynamic analysis of software.
• Contribute to scientific publications.

This is an outstanding opportunity to advance your career in cyber security, software engineering, machine learning whilst exploring the area of system emulation for large scale, automated, dynamic analysis of software with three world-class institutions in a world-leading environment.

Our world-renowned researchers have established a culture of innovation and a strong track record of publication in the top venues, particularly in the area of machine learning, computer vision and security. We're committed to delivering fundamental and commercially oriented research that's highly valued by our local and global communities. Here you'll work in one of the world's most talented and creative machine learning teams, with constant research–engineering collaboration. You'll use state-of-the-art technology. And you'll be based in the heart of one of the world's top 10 most liveable cities.

To be successful you will need

Level A

• PhD (or soon to be awarded) OR equivalent industry experience in Computer Science or Software Engineering or a similar discipline or experience in software development, applied machine learning, computer security, computer architecture.
• Experience and demonstrable expert knowledge in one or more of the following areas:
• Fuzzing techniques and tools and/or automated software testing research and methods
• Secure software and/or Software Vulnerability Analysis and/or Programming Languages and/or Linux kernel(s) and Operating Systems
• Just in time (JIT) compilers or knowledge/experience in compiler construction and compiler optimisations.
• Optimisation techniques (with applications in the software engineering field).
• Working with and/or building CPU emulators and/or virtual machines and/or hypervisors and/or hardware virtualisation
• Computer architecture (such as Intel x86, ARM, microcontrollers)
• Machine learning domain expertise working with binaries, text, structured data, sequential data or time series data and discrete data.
• Programming experience and expertise in Rust/C/C++/Python.
• A strong work ethic and creativity evidenced by key ideas generated in published research/thesis/products/tools.
• Fluency in written and spoken English, with an ability to communicate scientific ideas to an expert audience
• Commitment to the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion

Level B (in addition to the above)

• A track record of generating new ideas and quality research or software products & tools as evidenced by, for example patents or publications in one or more of top-tier software engineering, computer security, machine learning, artificial intelligence conferences and/or journals commensurate with experience and opportunity.
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and development with limited supervision.
• The ability to work as a member of a broader team, including with industrial partners.

How To Apply

Click the link to the online application form below and address and upload your responses to all selection criteria outlined in the selection criteria statement. Application closes Sunday 16th March 2025.

For further information

For a confidential discussion regarding this position or the opportunities currently available, please contact:

The University of Adelaide is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. Women and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who meet the requirements of this position are strongly encouraged to apply.

Advertised: 28 Feb 2025 12:00 AM
Applications close: 16 Mar 2025 11:55 PM