PhD Student – Neurosymbolic AI for Trustworthy Systems Interdisciplinary Transformation University (IT:U) in Austria

Interdisciplinary Transformation University (IT:U), Austria’s first public interdisciplinary university dedicated to digital transformation, invites applications for two PhD positions in Neurosymbolic AI for Trustworthy Systems. These positions are part of the IT:U Doctoral School PhD Program COMPUTATIONAL X and are based in Linz, Austria, with a start date in October 2026. The Principal Investigator is Professor Kimberly Garcia.

The research focuses on advancing neurosymbolic AI, integrating symbolic knowledge (such as logical rules and knowledge graphs) with subsymbolic approaches (like neural networks) to build reliable, interpretable, and trustworthy AI systems. The project addresses critical challenges in generative AI, including respecting hard constraints, grounding in verifiable knowledge, and ensuring transparency and predictability—especially in safety-critical domains like healthcare and industrial automation.

Each PhD student will pursue independent but related research. One will explore integrating symbolic knowledge into learning and inference, developing frameworks for selecting between symbolic, subsymbolic, and hybrid architectures, and evaluating these in real-world settings. The other will focus on human-centered aspects, designing neurosymbolic AI systems that are transparent, explainable, and privacy-respecting, tackling challenges in multimodal perception, scalable reasoning, and personalization in smart environments.

The INSYT lab offers close collaborations with leading European research labs and strong industry connections, providing access to real-world issues and test environments. The lab also supports co-supervision with other IT:U founding professors. Selected candidates will benefit from an active research network spanning academia and industry, with collaborations in Switzerland and Italy (including University of St. Gallen, University of Lausanne, Università della Svizzera Italiana, Empa, and University of Bologna).

PhD students will help shape the lab’s research agenda and culture, receive hands-on mentorship, and be encouraged to publish at top venues. Responsibilities include conducting research, publishing scientific papers, attending conferences, collaborating interdisciplinarily, contributing to academic teaching, supporting funding applications, and adhering to academic standards and ethical guidelines.

Applicants must have a master’s degree in computer science or a related field, programming proficiency, background in machine learning and symbolic AI, strong English communication skills (CEFR C1), independence, teamwork skills, and interest in human-centered AI. Desirable qualifications include experience with knowledge representation and reasoning (knowledge graphs, ontologies, inference rules, RDF, OWL, SPARQL), multimodal data, and interest in societal/practical AI implications.

IT:U offers innovative working conditions, an interdisciplinary international environment, complimentary office kitchen supplies, and the Austrian KlimaTicket OÖ (unlimited public transport in Upper Austria). The gross salary is EUR 2,832.10 per month (30h/week), with optional supplementary contracts for teaching or research up to 10 hours. The structured 4-year PhD program includes group work, lab modules, project courses, proposal presentation, thesis development, research seminars, and project assistant work, concluding with thesis submission and defense.

To apply, fill in the online application form and upload your CV, diplomas, transcripts, motivational letter (max 2 pages), and up to 3 contacts for recommendations. The positions remain open until filled, with rolling review. The call closes on 30.04.2026. IT:U values diversity and encourages applications from all backgrounds.

For questions, contact Bettina Mairhofer (Teamlead for Student Administration) at [email protected].