PhD student in Automatic Control focusing on secure control under uncertainty

Are you interested in working with control theory and probabilistic methods and their use in dynamical systems, with the support of competent and friendly colleagues in a leading international environment? Are you looking for an employer that invests in sustainable employeeship and offers safe, favourable working conditions? We welcome you to apply for a PhD position at the Department of Information Technology, Uppsala University.

The Department of Information Technology holds a leading position in both research and education at all levels. We are currently Uppsala University's third largest department, with 350 employees, including 120 teachers and 120 PhD students. Approximately 5,000 undergraduate students take one or more courses at the department each year. You can find more information about us on the Department of Information Technology website.

At the Division of Systems and Control, we develop both theory and concrete tools to design systems that learn, reason, and act in the real world based on a seamless combination of data, mathematical models, and algorithms. Our research integrates expertise from machine learning, optimization, control theory, and applied mathematics, spanning diverse application domains such as medicine, energy systems, biomedical systems, neuroscience, and safety and security. The Division of Systems and Control enjoys a wide network of strong international collaborators all around the world, for example at the University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Imperial College, Delft University of Technology, University of Sydney, University of Newcastle and Aalto University. We strive for all PhD students to get a solid international experience during their PhD.

The position is funded by the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation through a Wallenberg Academy Fellowship hosted at the Secure Learning and Control Laboratory. The Secure Learning and Control Laboratory is a growing interdisciplinary research group doing basic and applied research at the intersection of cybersecurity, control theory, and machine learning. Our vision is to develop methodologies for designing intelligent autonomous decision-making systems that are secure and resilient against malicious adversaries and natural failures.

Project description
The project aims to develop new theories and methods for enhancing the safety and security of control systems in the presence of strategic adversaries and probabilistic uncertainty. Uncertainty can play an interesting dual role in security. The adversary may seek to obfuscate their actions within noise or different sources of uncertainty. The defender can carefully inject uncertainty to obfuscate the system’s vulnerabilities, as in moving-target defense. We seek to further investigate the dual role of uncertainty in the safety and security of control systems.

Several directions of interest can be explored within this project: 1) investigate the capabilities of strategic adversaries that learn from data; 2) investigate and mitigate the security vulnerabilities of safety-oriented controllers (e.g., safety filters); 3) develop probabilistic methods to analyze security under uncertain adversaries and unknown system parameters; 4) analyze and design safe control systems that integrate online data and prior models under the possible influence of adversaries. If there is interest, we will also look into applications within process control, glucose monitoring, robotics, or electric power systems.

The exact details of the project will be decided in a dialogue between the student and supervisor.

Duties
The position is for a maximum of five years. The doctoral student will primarily devote their time to graduate education. Other departmental duties of at most 20%, including teaching and administration, may also be included in the employment.

Requirements
Entry requirements for doctoral education are regulated in the Higher Education Ordinance. To meet the general entry requirements for doctoral studies, you must:

• hold a Master’s (second-cycle) degree in engineering physics, electrical engineering, applied mathematics, computer science, or in a similar field, or
• have completed at least 240 credits in higher education, with at least 60 credits at Master’s level including an independent project worth at least 15 credits, or
• have acquired substantially equivalent knowledge in some other way.

We are looking for candidates with:

• a strong interest in control theory and applied mathematics,
• good communication skills with sufficient proficiency in oral and written English,
• excellent study results,
• personal characteristics such as a high level of creativity, thoroughness, and/or a structured approach to problem-solving are essential.

The University may permit an exemption from the general entry requirements for an individual applicant, if there are special grounds (Chapter 7, § 39 of the Higher Education Ordinance). For special entry requirements, please see the subject’s general study plan.

Additional qualifications
Experience and courses in one or more subjects are valued: control theory, linear systems, nonlinear control, robust control, statistical learning and optimization, system identification, and game theory.

Rules governing PhD students are set out in the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5, §§ 1-7 and in Uppsala University's rules and guidelines.

Application
The application must include:

1. a cover letter (at most 2 pages) of the applicant’s motivation for applying for this position and the earliest possible starting date. The cover letter should include the heading “Suitability for this position”, containing a self-assessment on why you would be the right candidate for this position;
2. a CV;
3. degrees and transcript of records with grades (translated to English or Swedish);
4. the Master’s thesis (or a draft thereof, and/or some other self-produced technical or scientific text), publications, and other relevant documents;
5. two references with contact information (names, emails and telephone number) and up to two letters of recommendation.

Applicants who meet at least one of the entry requirements are strongly encouraged to apply.

About the employment
The employment is a temporary position according to the Higher Education Ordinance chapter 5 § 7. Scope of employment 100 %. Starting date September 1, 2025, or as agreed. Placement: Uppsala.

For further information about the position, please contact: Associate Professor André Teixeira (phone: +46  18-471 5414, email: andre.teixeira@it.uu.se).

Please submit your application by 28 March 2025, UFV-PA 2025/335.

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