Research Assistant or Research Associate in Resilience and Safety to Cyber Attacks in Industrial Control and Cyber Physical Systems

Location: South Kensington Campus

About the role:

This post of Research Assistant (pre-doctoral) or Research Associate (post-doctoral) is to conduct world-leading research, under the direction of Professor Emil Lupu, on the resilience and safety of Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) to cyber-attacks.

The post is based in the Department of Computing at Imperial College London. This is a leading department of Computer Science among UK Universities. The department has achieved top results in each of the research assessment exercises undertaken by the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The successful applicant will join the Resilient Information Systems Security group, led by Professor Emil Lupu, www.rissgroup.org.

What you would be doing:

The position offers an exciting opportunity to conduct internationally leading and impactful research in security and safety of ICS and CPS. The Research Assistant/Associate will be responsible for researching implementing and delivering novel solutions at the intersection of safety, security, and (model-based) systems engineering, whilst applying systems analysis techniques based on formal methods, AI, and optimisation and will be expected to submit publications to top-tier conferences and journals in computer security. See https://rissgroup.org/projects-resics/ for further information on the project.

What we are looking for:

To apply for this position, you must have a strong computer science background with a focus on computer security and (model-based) systems engineering, have excellent software development and implementation skills, have experience, including a proven publication track-record, in computer security or (model-based) systems engineering and willingness to become familiar with other techniques applicable. You should also have:

• A PhD degree (Research Associate) or a Master’s (Research Assistant) in computer science or a related area.*
• Familiarity with ICS and/or CPS.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work with others.
• Ability to organise your own work and set priorities to meet deadlines.

As part of the conditions of the grant the preferred candidate is required to successfully undergo a Baseline Personnel Security Standard check by DSTL^[1] prior to receiving a contract of employment.

Please see job description for a full list of requirements.

*Candidates who have not yet been officially awarded their PhD will be appointed as
Research Assistant, salary range £43,863 - £47,223 per annum.

Further Information

Full-time, Fixed term contract to start 1 February 2026 until 31st August 2026

(an extension of up to 6 months may be possible if granted to the project)

To apply, please click the 'Apply' button, above.

In addition to completing the online application candidates should attach: 

• A full CV
• A 1 page research statement on how your experience meets the above requirements.

Informal enquiries related to the position should be directed to Professor Emil Lupu – e.c.lupu@imperial.ac.uk

For queries regarding the application process contact Jamie Perrins: j.perrins@imperial.ac.uk

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/defence-science-and-technology-laboratory

Advert information