Postdoctoral Research Associate​/Fellow – Technical AI Safety

King’s College London
Strand Campus, London, United Kingdom

General Description:
King’s College London’s Department of Informatics is inviting applications for a full‑time Postdoctoral Research Associate or Fellow position in Technical AI Safety. This fixed‑term appointment is funded by an Open Philanthropy grant for the project “Verifiably Robust Conformal Probes”, which aims to advance theoretical and practical methods for latent probing (activation monitoring) of large language models (LLMs) using certification and conformal prediction techniques to provide probabilistic and adversarial robustness guarantees.

Key applications of this research include identifying misaligned LLM behaviours such as deception, harmful outputs, jailbreak vulnerabilities, and power‑seeking tendencies. The successful candidate will contribute to the development of these methods in collaboration with Dr Nicola Paoletti’s research team, a PhD student in the lab, and collaborators including Prof Osvaldo Simeone and Dr Mehran Hosseini. The role offers integration into a vibrant research environment within a department recognised for excellence in AI research and support for professional development.

This position is offered on a contract basis until 31 October 2027 with a start as soon as possible, and entitlement to at least 10 days per year of pro‑rata professional development leave. Interviews are expected to be held in late March 2026.

Eligibility Criteria:

Applicants for the Research Associate grade (Grade
6) should have completed, or be close to completing, a PhD in a relevant discipline at the time of application.

Applicants for the Research Fellow grade (Grade
7) must hold a PhD in a relevant subject and have prior post‑doctoral research experience.

Required Expertise/Skills:
Essential for Research Associate (Grade
6):

PhD in a relevant subject area or near completion.

Research experience using relevant research techniques and methodologies.

Strong publication record appropriate for the candidate’s career stage.

Algorithmic and model development skills, and familiarity with machine learning libraries.

Ability to work independently and collaboratively.

Effective written and verbal communication skills.

Essential for Research Fellow (Grade
7):

Creativity and originality in research contributions.

Willingness to participate in dissemination beyond standard conferences (e.g., lab meetings or research visits).

Experience in supporting junior colleagues (especially for Grade
7).

Salary Details:

Grade 6 (Research Associate): £45,031 – £52,514 per annum (including London Weighting Allowance).

Grade 7 (Research Fellow): £53,947 – £63,350 per annum (depending on experience).