PhD and Postdoc Positions in Human-AI Collaboration for Cybersecurity at TU Darmstadt and Goethe University Frankfurt Technical University of Darmstadt in Germany

The Ubiquitous Knowledge Processing (UKP) Lab at the Technical University of Darmstadt, in collaboration with Goethe University Frankfurt, is offering fully funded PhD and Postdoc positions in the interdisciplinary HAICC project: Human-AI Collaboration for Cybersecurity. This initiative, funded by the National Research Center for Applied Cybersecurity ATHENE, aims to redefine how humans and AI agents cooperate to address complex cybersecurity challenges. The project focuses on agentic architectures, HCI-based interaction protocols, learning expert preferences from natural language feedback, multimodal adaptation, and AI agent integrity and accountability.

Successful candidates will join a diverse team of leading researchers, including Prof. Iryna Gurevych (Natural Language Processing), Prof. Kristian Kersting (Machine Learning), Prof. Carsten Binnig (Multimodal AI), Subhabrata Dutta, PhD (NLP), Prof. Mira Mezini (Software Engineering), Prof. Florian Müller (Human-Computer Interaction), Prof. Christian Reuter (Cybersecurity), Prof. Haya Schulmann (Cybersecurity), Prof. Anna Rohrbach (Multimodal AI), Prof. Markus Rohrbach (Multimodal AI), Prof. Stefan Roth (Computer Vision), Prof. Michael Waidner (Cybersecurity), and Prof. Hinrich Schütze (NLP, LMU Munich). Each PhD student will be co-supervised by at least two faculty members, ensuring interdisciplinary guidance and support.

Research areas include investigating real-world cybersecurity workflows using empirical HCI methods, developing collaborative AI agent capabilities (natural-language understanding, preference learning, domain-aware reasoning), multimodal adaptation (tabular data, images, code), formalizing explainability and trustworthiness in AI agents, and applying the HAICC framework to practical cybersecurity use cases. The project benefits from access to state-of-the-art infrastructure, including TU Darmstadt’s GPU clusters and a strong AI and cybersecurity ecosystem.

Applicants for PhD positions must hold a Master’s degree in computer science, AI, cybersecurity, human–computer interaction, or related fields. Postdoc applicants require a PhD in these areas. Candidates should demonstrate expertise in large language models, NLP and AI agents, cybersecurity or security analytics, machine learning and preference learning, human–AI interaction or explainable AI, along with excellent programming, analytical, and communication skills. English proficiency is required; German is advantageous but not mandatory.

Funding is fully provided, with remuneration according to the TV – TU Darmstadt collective agreement. Benefits include 30 days annual leave, educational leave, free public transport in Hesse, remote work options, preventive medical check-ups, subsidised sports programmes, flexible working models, pension scheme, university bicycle, and family-friendly services. The university encourages applications from female candidates and those with disabilities.

To apply, visit the official portal at https://careers.ukp.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/, complete the online form, and select the 'ATHENE-HAICC' position. Submit a motivation letter, CV, degree documents, transcripts, project proposal, work area and supervisor preferences, and recommendation letters. The application deadline is December 14, 2025, but positions remain open until filled.