Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Identity and Access Management

About the position

Position as Postdoctoral Research Fellow available at the Department of Informatics at University of Oslo.

Starting date no later than December 1, 2024.

The appointment will be for a fixed-term full-time position with a duration between three (3) and four (4) years. Between 10% and 25% of the appointment will be devoted to career-enhancing compulsory work duties, e.g. teaching or supervision. The fellowship duration will be determined at the time of the appointment, dependent on the qualifications of the applicant and the teaching-related needs of the department.

No one can be appointed for more than one Postdoctoral Research Fellowship at the University of Oslo.

To be eligible, candidates must not be a citizen of any other country than European countries, NATO countries, and Five-Eyes countries. This is because cyber security research may involve collaboration with defense and national security organizations where security clearance may be needed.

The Department of Informatics

Knowledge development in a changing world - Science and technology towards 2030.

Job description

With the ubiquity of digital services covering every aspect of our daily lives—like shopping, traveling, banking, and e-government—identity and access management are more critical than ever. Emerging technologies and methods like FIDO2 passkeys and self-sovereign identities offer new opportunities and, at the same time, challenges due to the inheritance of vulnerabilities from traditional authentication methods. This postdoctoral fellowship aims to research modern identity and access systems and develop methods for analyzing aspects like security, usability, and privacy.

The postdoctoral fellowship will be part of the Digital Security research group at the Informatics Department, and it is expected that the candidate contributes to the group’s research activities.

Postdoctoral fellows who are appointed for a period of four years are expected to acquire basic pedagogical competency in the course of their fellowship period within the duty component of 25 %.

The main purpose of a postdoctoral fellowship is to provide the candidates with enhanced skills to pursue a scientific top position within or beyond academia. To promote a strategic career path, all postdoctoral research fellows are required to submit a professional development plan no later than one month after commencement of the postdoctoral period.

It is expected that the successful candidate will be able to complete the project in the course of the period of employment.

Qualification requirements

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this, and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

• Applicants must hold a degree equivalent to a Norwegian doctoral degree in cyber/information security. Doctoral dissertation must be submitted for evaluation by the closing date. Only applicants with an approved doctoral thesis and public defence are eligible for appointment. 
• Knowledge in identity and access management technologies
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English

Desired qualifications:

• Knowledge in modern identity management technologies (e.g., passwordless authentication, self-sovereign identity)
• Experience in academic teaching related to ICT and cyber/information security
• Experience in organizing academic events and workshops 
• Experience in academic administrative tasks 
• Basic oral and written communication skills in a Scandinavian language 

Personal skills

Willingness to be part of a team and to share knowledge and skills

We offer:

• Salary NOK 575 400 – 657 300 per year depending on qualifications in position as Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (position code 1352)
• Vibrant international academic environment
• Professionelly stimulating working environment
• Attractive welfare benefits and a generous pension agreement
Postdoctoral development programmes
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities

The application must include:

• Cover letter (statement of motivation, summarization of scientific work and research interest)
• Project description
• CV (summarizing education, positions, pedagogical experience, administrative experience and other qualifying activity) 
• Copies of educational certificates, academic transcript of records 
• A complete list of publications and up to 5 academic works that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)
• The application should describe how the applicant's PhD project and other research activities are relevant to the position.

The application with attachments must be delivered in our electronic recruiting system, please follow the link “apply for this job”. Foreign applicants are advised to attach an explanation of their University's grading system. Please note that all documents should be in English (or a Scandinavian language).

In assessing the applications, special emphasis will be placed on the documented, academic qualifications, the project description, and the quality of the project as well as the candidates motivation and personal suitability. 

Interviews with the best qualified candidates will be arranged.

Formal regulations:

Please see the guidelines and regulations for appointments to Postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Oslo.

If an applicant has applied for and been granted funding for a fulltime research stay abroad while being employed as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow, the employment will be prolonged with the equivalent time as the research stay, but for no longer than of twelve months ( thus extending the employment to a maximum of four years).

No one can be appointed twice as a Postdoctoral fellow financed with funds from The Research Council of Norway (NFR).

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.

The University of Oslo has an agreement for all employees, aiming to secure rights to research results a.o.

Inclusion and diversity are a strength. The University of Oslo has a personnel policy objective of achieving a balanced gender composition. Furthermore, we want employees with diverse professional expertise, life experience and perspectives.

If there are qualified applicants with disabilities, employment gaps or immigrant background, we will invite at least one applicant from each of these categories to an interview.

Contact persons:

For further information please contact Associate Professor Nils Gruschka, e-mail: nilsgrus@ifi.uio.no

For questions regarding the recruitment system, please contact HR Adviser Therese Ringvold,  e-mail: therese.ringvold@mn.uio.no