PhD Student

A 3-year PhD Research Fellowship is available at Simula Metropolitan Center for Digital Engineering (SimulaMet), within our research effort on the security and safety of AI systems.

The Role

Most security and safety work on AI happens where models are built. We work where they are used. As AI systems move into hospitals, public administration, and other consequential settings, the institutions that deploy them, and the regulators and auditors who oversee them, need to establish whether a given system is safe to use, independently of the vendor that built it.

The PhD researcher will develop methods and tools for evaluating, red-teaming, and monitoring AI systems as they are actually deployed. The work pursues two goals:

• A science of failure: Explaining why and when systems fail, treating a model as one part of a larger socio-technical system.
• Open, vendor-independent tools: Practical, local-first instruments that any regulator, auditor, or public agency can run without commercial dependencies.

You would build on and extend an existing, openly released toolset: SimpleAudit, swarm-attack, and the Moltbook Observatory.

What We Offer

• Excellent opportunities for performing high-quality research in an international environment.
• Generous support for travel, conferences, and international networks.
• Competitive salary starting from NOK 550 800.
• Modern office facilities in downtown Oslo and numerous employee benefits.
• Relocation assistance and administrative research support.