As you may or may not have heard, I will join the Department of Informatics at King’s College London from 2023. Specifically, I will join the Cybersecurity Group there with the aim to build a cryptography lab. As part of that plan, we are going to hire for four staff positions (three at the lecturer level, one at the senior lecturer level). The first of these is now on the market:
Note that the plan here is not to build an exclusive lattice-based cryptography, mathematical cryptography, post-quantum cryptography or a cryptanalysis lab, but our ambition is to build a lab with expertise across cryptography. I think this creates a fun and interesting research environment. So consider applying if you consider FSE, CHES, PKC, TCC or RWC your home venue or any other area of cryptography.
Normally, in this genre of blog posts I’d now go on talking about how amazing the department and everybody in it is but I’ve yet to start at KCL myself. However, everything I’ve seen so far makes me really quite optimistic, the department is strong and the people are nice.
The application deadline is somewhat far into the future (1 March 2023). So, if you like, there’s plenty of time to reach out to discuss or even to come visit us to check us out.
We’d appreciate any help in spreading the word. Happy to answer any questions I can answer or to direct to you to someone who can.
Lecturer in Cryptography
Job ID 054515 Salary £48,737 to £57,353 per annum, including London Weighting Allowance Posted 22-Sep-2022 Closing date 01-Mar-2023 Business unit Natural, Mathematical & Engineering Sci Department Informatics Contact details Professor Luc Moreau , hod-inf@kcl.ac.uk Job description
As part of its strategic development, the Department of Informatics is seeking applications from candidates for the position of Lecturer in Computer Science (Cryptography), starting in September 2023, or as soon as possible thereafter.
The successful applicant for this post will undertake research and teaching in an area of Cryptography and more broadly Cybersecurity. They will be assigned to teach on the Department’s MSc in Cybersecurity (face to face and/or online), or other postgraduate or undergraduate degree programmes offered by the Department of Informatics, and will be expected to supervise both undergraduate and postgraduate projects. While we cannot guarantee teaching in cryptography, we hope to expand our cryptography teaching portfolio in the near future.
Accordingly, the successful applicant will need knowledge and awareness of current research and practical challenges in Cryptography. All areas of cryptography are of interest to the Department, including but not limited to theory (TCC), applied (RWC), public-key (PKC), symmetric-key (FSE) and embedded systems and hardware (CHES). Outstanding candidates engaged in research and teaching which complements that of the existing members of the Department will be considered favourably.
The successful candidate will be appointed to the Cybersecurity (CYS) group[A1] [A2] and will have the opportunity to contribute to the Security Hub and to the King’s EPSRC-NCSC Academic Centre of Excellence in Cybersecurity Research (ACE-CSR) – https://www.kcl.ac.uk/cybersecurity-centre. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues in the new cryptography lab launching in January 2023 [A3] and other labs in the CYS group. Research collaboration across research groups, with departmental hubs and with other Departments in the Faculty and across the College is strongly encouraged.
The mission of CYS is to conduct word-class research to address research and practical challenges in Cybersecurity such as the ones listed above through six main interconnected pillars: (i) Trustworthy AI; (ii) Formal and automated (program) analysis for verification and testing of security protocols and systems; (iii) Human-Centred Security and Privacy; (iv) Provenance and Trust; (v) Systems Security; and (vi) Cryptography.
To realise our mission, we look at security & privacy challenges with a broad perspective and regularly sit in the program committees of and publish in top-tier and well-known venues in Cryptography (EUROCRYPT, CRYPTO, ASIACRYPT, IACR Area Workshops), Security & Privacy (e.g., IEEE S&P, USENIX Security, ACM CCS, NDSS, IEEE CSF, USENIX SOUPS, IEEE TDSC, IEEE TIFS, ACM TOPS), Artificial Intelligence (e.g., IJCAI, AAMAS, IEEE TKDE), Measurement (e.g., WWW, IMC), Software Engineering (e.g., IEEE TSE), and Human-Computer Interaction (e.g., CHI, CSCW, TOCHI).
Top-quality research establishes CYS members as leaders in their fields, but it is its transformative aspect that provides the opportunity to serve the society while supporting King’s as an outstanding institution in science and technology. As such, CYS has strong links with industry and civil society organisations, which engages with us in collaborative research projects.
Applicants must have a PhD, an excellent publication record, and the ability to attract research funding. It is essential that applicants have the enthusiasm and commitment required to contribute to the further development of the research standing of the Department of Informatics, and to make a full contribution to teaching and administrative activities.
Diversity is positively encouraged with a number of family-friendly policies, including the operation of a core hours policy, the right to apply for flexible working and support for staff returning from periods of extended absence, for example maternity leave. The Department of Informatics is committed to ensuring an inclusive interview process and will reimburse up to £250 towards any additional care costs (for a dependent child or adult) incurred as a result of attending an interview for this position.
For further information about the Department of Informatics at King’s, please see https://nms.kcl.ac.uk/luc.moreau/informatics/overview.pdf.
This post will be offered on an indefinite contract This is a full-time post – 100% full time equivalent
Key responsibilities
The successful candidate is expected to:
- engage in advanced research, maintain an outstanding track record of published research at a level of international excellence and lead activities promoting research impact.
- make a significant contribution to the teaching, examining and project supervision of undergraduate and MSc students in the Department of Informatics
- supervise research students in the Department of Informatics and act as personal tutor to students as agreed with the Head of Department, assist with difficulties, e.g. learning support/problems and be responsible for the pastoral care of students.
- Undertake any other reasonable duties that may be requested by the Head of Department.
The above list of responsibilities may not be exhaustive, and the post holder will be required to undertake such tasks and responsibilities as may reasonably be expected within the scope and grading of the post.
Skills, knowledge, and experience
Essential criteria
- PhD in computer science, cryptography or related field
- Strong research record in computer science and/or cryptography as evidenced by publications in high quality journals and/or conferences; Research experience and good reputation in computer science, cryptography or relevant research field; Potential to acquire research project funding; Ability to supervise research students
- Ability to teach undergraduate and postgraduate modules in computer science and cybersecurity
- Ability to make a significant contribution to administrative work
Desirable criteria
- Teaching and examining experience
- Experience in attracting external research funds
- Administrative experience
Further information
The selection process will include a presentation and a panel interview. The candidates will also have the opportunity to meet members of the department. Interviews are scheduled to be held in early April 2023. Presentations scheduling will be confirmed once shortlisting has taken place. Meetings, presentations and interviews are subject to pandemic constraints and may be held online.