About us
The University of Luxembourg is an international research university with a distinctly multilingual and interdisciplinary character.
The Interdisciplinary Centre for Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg is a leading international research and innovation centre in secure, reliable and trustworthy ICT systems and services.
We play an instrumental role in Europe by fueling innovation through research partnerships with industry, boosting R&D investments leading to economic growth, and attracting highly qualified talent. We look for researchers from diverse academic backgrounds to contribute to our projects in areas such as: Network Security, Information Assurance, Model-driven Security, Cloud Computing, Cryptography, Satellite Systems, Vehicular Networks, and ICT Services & Applications.
Your role
The PhD student will contribute to a large industrial research collaboration with a major Luxembourgish energy utility, investigating how AI agents can be made reliable, explainable and governable in a regulated operational environment. As AI agents become ubiquitous inside an organisation's day-to-day processes, the single general-purpose assistant gives way to teams of agents with bounded expertise that must work together, and reliability stops being a property of one model and becomes a property of the system as a whole.
The student investigates how such multi-agent systems can be designed so that their behaviour remains trustworthy in a setting where mistakes carry financial and regulatory consequences. Open questions include how agents coordinate when their conclusions disagree, under what governed and permission-bounded conditions one agent may draw on another's reasoning, how a system degrades gracefully when part of it is unavailable, and how machine reasoning can be made legible enough that a professional without a technical background can follow it, contest it, and overrule it.
The work combines building real systems with empirical evaluation in operational settings. The student will collaborate closely with academic and industrial partners, and disseminate results through publications and project activities. The successful candidate will join the UBIX Research Group, led by Prof. Raphaël Frank.
You will be required to perform the following tasks:
- Carrying out research in the predefined areas
- Disseminating results through scientific publications
- Communicate and interact with the project team and industrial partners and report results
- Implement and evaluate proof-of-concept software tools, and open-source them where possible
For further information about the role, please contact
Your profile
Qualification: The candidate should possess a MSc degree or equivalent in Computer Science or any related engineering discipline.
Experience: The ideal candidate should have some knowledge and/or experience in several of the following topics (ordered by importance):
- Large language models and LLM-based agents
- Multi-agent systems and coordination
- Explainability and interpretability of AI systems
- Software architecture and distributed systems
- Knowledge representation, retrieval and reasoning
- Evaluation methodology for LLM-based systems
- Human-computer interaction and human factors
- Trustworthy AI, AI governance and regulation
Information Technology Skills: Strong analytical and programming skills are required (Python and C/C++). Prior proven experience in data-driven innovation projects is an asset. Most importantly, you should be curiosity driven and willing to constantly learn new things!
Operational Language Requirements: Excellent command in English (C1) is required. Good working knowledge in either French, German or Luxembourgish (B1) is a plus
Academic Eligibility (Thesis):
Applicants must demonstrate at least B2-level proficiency in the language of their thesis. For details and accepted certificates, please visit the Application for admission - Doctoral Candidates.
We offer
- A modern, dynamic university with a personal and inclusive atmosphere. Multilingual and international character. Staff coming from more than 90 countries. Member of The Guild of European Research Intensive Universities
- An exceptional research environment, supported by skilled staff and high-quality equipment. Strong links to professional sectors and the Luxembourg labour market. A unique urban campus with excellent infrastructure
- A partner for society and industry. Cooperation with European institutions, innovative companies, the Financial Centre and a wide range of non-academic partners including ministries, local governments, associations, and NGOs
How to apply
Applications should include:
- Curriculum Vitae, including:
- For each degree received or currently enrolled in, the degree, institution name, city, and country, and date (or expected date) of graduation
- Title and short summary of final thesis
- List of publications (if any)
- If available, link to GitHub repository including completed open-source projects
- Cover letter presenting your motivation for this doctoral thesis topic, and explaining how your qualifications and aspirations align with its academic focus
- Transcript of all modules and results from university-level courses taken
Early application is highly encouraged, as the applications will be processed upon reception. Please apply ONLINE formally through the HR system. Applications by Email will not be considered.
All qualified individuals are encouraged to apply. In line with our values, the University of Luxembourg promotes an inclusive culture. We encourage applications from individuals of all backgrounds and are dedicated to upholding equality and respect for our employees and students.
General information:
- Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract 36 Month
- Work Hours: Full Time 40.0 Hours per Week
- Location: Kirchberg Campus
- Internal Title: Doctoral Researcher
- Job Reference: UOL08435
The yearly gross salary for every Doctoral researcher at the UL is EUR 44531 (full time).
