Our Research Environment: At Simula, we cultivate a research environment built on collaboration, mutual respect, and intellectual curiosity, intentionally minimizing traditional academic hierarchies. PhD candidates work directly alongside senior scientists in a supportive atmosphere where innovative ideas flourish. Our Oslo headquarters serves as a living laboratory with specialized facilities, HPC clusters, and spaces designed to foster interdisciplinary teamwork. You'll join a vibrant international community where diverse perspectives are valued as essential for tackling complex global challenges.

Beyond Research Papers: Simula is committed to translating research into tangible societal benefits. We maintain strong connections with diverse partners, from industry leaders and tech startups to government agencies, who are eager to implement our findings. Your PhD work will contribute not only to scientific theory but also directly influence how critical AI systems are designed, deployed, and governed responsibly. We encourage entrepreneurial thinking, offering access to innovation workshops and Norway's thriving tech ecosystem. Your research at Simula can genuinely shape how society interacts with and benefits from powerful AI technologies.

Life at Simula & Oslo: We champion Norway's progressive approach to work-life balance, supporting your well-being with generous holiday allowances and flexible working arrangements, ensuring you have time for both groundbreaking research and personal pursuits. Oslo, consistently ranked among the world's most livable cities, offers an exceptional quality of life with its blend of urban energy, rich cultural scene, and stunning natural beauty. Enjoy easy access to forests, mountains, and fjords for year-round outdoor activities. Furthermore, Simula encourages participation in science communication, tech festivals, and educational outreach, allowing you to develop valuable skills and share your passion with the wider community.

Institution: Simula Cybersecurity, Oslo, Norway

Simula Research Laboratory invites applications from highly motivated and collaborative candidates for an exciting PhD position contributing to cutting-edge research in Artificial Intelligence. This fully-funded, three-year position focuses on the critical challenge of developing adaptive, resilient, and trustworthy AI systems suitable for security and safety-critical applications that impact society.

Project Description

Simula Research Laboratory offers an exceptional opportunity for a PhD candidate to pioneer groundbreaking research at the intersection of AI resilience, safety, and security. Based in Oslo, Norway, you will join a team of world-class researchers shaping the future of adaptive AI systems you can trust.

In an era where AI increasingly influences critical decisions in areas like healthcare, finance, and infrastructure, we face an urgent societal challenge: how can AI systems continuously learn and adapt to dynamic environments and evolving threats without compromising their safety, reliability, or core knowledge? How do we ensure these systems operate ethically and fairly? This doctoral research addresses these fundamental questions, developing novel AI architectures and methodologies that carefully balance adaptability with stability and responsibility in high-stakes domains.

What You Will Investigate

• Reliable Continuous Learning: Design and evaluate mechanisms (e.g., mitigating catastrophic forgetting) that allow AI systems to learn continuously from new data while reliably preserving critical knowledge and ensuring stable performance.
• Holistic AI Understanding: Create and analyze frameworks that seamlessly integrate diverse knowledge sources, potentially combining knowledge graphs, reinforcement learning, and large foundation models for more robust and context-aware AI.
• Resilience by Design: Develop and test AI systems capable of detecting, responding to, and learning from sophisticated adversarial threats in real-time, enhancing the security of systems people rely on.
• Responsible & Ethical AI: Critically evaluate the societal implications and ethical considerations of deploying adaptive AI systems, particularly in security and safety contexts, contributing to guidelines for responsible innovation.
• Real-World Impact & Validation: Collaborate closely with our industry and public sector partners to test your implementations against authentic challenges, ensuring your research translates into meaningful, practical solutions.

Your Contributions Will Include

• Developing innovative AI architectures or methodologies with demonstrable improvements in adaptation, resilience, safety, and trustworthiness.
• Publishing impactful findings in top-tier international conferences and journals (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR, AAAI, IEEE S&P).
• Presenting your work at international venues and sharing knowledge effectively.
• Collaborating closely within a supportive, interdisciplinary research team.
• Implementing working prototypes that address real-world security, safety, or ethical challenges in adaptive AI.
• Contributing to the wider research community through open-source tools, datasets, or best practice recommendations.

What We Are Looking For

• MSc in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Statistics, or a closely related technical field.
• Demonstrated experience implementing and evaluating machine learning systems.
• Strong programming skills, particularly with Python and frameworks like PyTorch or TensorFlow.
• Excellent analytical thinking and creative, collaborative problem-solving abilities.
• A genuine passion for tackling complex research questions with the potential for significant real-world, positive impact.
• An open and collaborative mindset and excellent communication skills in English.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary based on qualifications and experience, following Norwegian PhD salary scales. Starting from NOK 536,200
• Dedicated research funding for attending conferences, acquiring necessary equipment, and undertaking international research visits.
• Integration into Simula’s vibrant AI, security, and safety research community with access to high-performance computing resources and modern lab facilities.
• Dedicated mentorship from leading international experts committed to your scientific growth and career development.
• A dynamic, international, and supportive research environment that values curiosity and collaboration (currently 185 researchers from 35 countries).
• Excellent career development opportunities through strong partnerships with industry, government, and academic networks worldwide.
• A chance to contribute to research that directly influences societal safety, security, and the responsible governance of AI.
• Competitive employment terms,
  • Generous equipment budgets (e.g., computer, phone and subscription), comprehensive travel/health insurance policy, subsidized canteen meals, access to company cabin, sponsored social events.
  • Relocation assistance: accommodation, visas, complimentary Norwegian language courses, etc.

We strongly encourage applications from all qualified candidates and are actively working to promote diversity and gender balance in our research environment. We particularly welcome applications from women, who are currently underrepresented in this field. We believe that diverse teams foster creativity, drive innovation, and lead to more impactful research outcomes.

Application requirements

Qualified candidates are invited to submit the following documents via our online application portal:

• CV: Highlighting relevant research experience, technical skills, projects, and any publications.
• Academic Transcripts: Copies of transcripts and degree certificates for both Bachelor's and Master's degrees.
• Statement of Motivation and Research Interests (max 2 pages): Outline your motivation for pursuing this PhD. Describe how your interests align with the challenges of building adaptive, resilient, and trustworthy AI. Briefly discuss your relevant experience and ideas, potentially touching upon the societal or ethical aspects you find compelling.
• Sample of Technical Writing: This could be your Master's thesis (or a chapter), a relevant research paper or report, or a link to a well-documented code project.
• Contact Information: Names and contact details for 2-3 academic or professional references.

Application Deadline: June 8, 2025. 

Applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis, and the expected starting date will be in August-September 2025.

For inquiries about the position, please contact:

• Jostein Jensen, Director of Simula Cyber Security: jostein@simula.no

We look forward to receiving your application!

Simula Research Laboratory uses background checks in our recruitment process.

According to the Norwegian Freedom and Information Act (Offentleglova) information about the applicant may be included in the public applicant list, also in cases where the applicant has requested non-disclosure.

Employment for this position will be made according to the act relating to Control of the export of strategic goods, Services and Technology. Candidates who by assessment of the application and any attachments are considered to be in conflict with the export control regulations will not qualify for this position.

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