Research Associate in Formal Verification of Python Programs

at  The University of Manchester

This role is for a research associate to conduct advanced research in formal verification of Python programs as part of the EnnCore project (https://enncore.github.io/)
The EnnCore project will address a fundamental security problem in neural-based (NB) architectures, allowing system designers to specify and verify a conceptual/behavioural hardcore to the system, which can be used to safeguard NB systems against unexpected behaviour and attacks. It will pioneer the dialogue between contemporary explainable neural models and full-stack neural software verification. We will, therefore, develop methods, algorithms and tools to achieve fully-verifiable intelligent systems, which are explainable, whose correct behaviour is guaranteed, and that are privacy-preserving and robust towards attacks.
Manchester has a long and distinguished track record in researching core Computer Science and across interfaces to adjacent disciplines. Founded upon the pioneering work of Williams, Kilburn and Turing, the Department was the first academic Department of Computer Science in the UK and one of the first to run an undergraduate programme. The research strength of the school is reflected in consistently strong returns in UK research assessment exercises (5* in RAE 2000, 2nd in Research Power in RAE 2008, 4th in overall GPA in REF 2014 and ranked equal 1st for research environment). The Systems and Software Security (S3) has a broad range of expertise, including developing system design and verification methods, and application of privacy enhancing technologies.
With its focus on real-world use cases, this position is a unique opportunity to make a real impact, advance state-of-the-art in applied formal verification research, and join a top-class team of collaborators. The role also offers an outstanding opportunity for career development that is equally well-suited to an academic or industrial research path or subsequent work as a verification engineer in the industry.
The post holder will be a member of the EnnCore team, working closely with Dr Mustafa Mustafa and Prof Lucas Cordeiro at Manchester. The ideal candidate will research and apply novel verification algorithms and methodologies on real-world use cases being investigated in the project. In particular, the candidate will enjoy designing, developing, and evaluating novel AI-based verification methods to find the presence or prove the absence of attacks. The project will involve continuous interaction with experts in explainable AI and formal software verification. They will also have the opportunity to build use cases and collaborate with domain experts in areas such as cancer research and energy trading. The candidate will design, develop and evaluate new models in the context of their accuracy, privacy-protection and robustness. This position may include research on a diverse set of techniques such as model checking, program synthesis, and software testing.
As a result, the successful candidate will collaborate with researchers at the University of Manchester. The post holder will also closely interact with the research term at the University of Liverpool, working on technology aimed at real-world impact.

Please refer the Job description for details