TILT is looking for a PostDoc researcher in data protection and cybersecurity in IoT Security, within the Public-Private Partnership project INTERSCT (http://intersct.nl).

The INTERSECT project maintains the need to re-think the current dominant ICT security paradigms by delegating (part of) the IoT stack’s security management to systems that are able autonomously adapt to (and learn from) changes in their environment of reference, while remaining under human supervision and control. INTERSECT aims at developing novel and automated techniques to detect vulnerabilities in complex arrangements of cyber-physical systems and to address their exploitation.

While the axiom according to which ‘there is no privacy without security’ still holds true, rethinking modern IT security practices for the IoT age can lead to a new trade-off with privacy and personal data protection. The aim of this project is to analyse, from a normative perspective, the privacy and data protection implications of autonomous vulnerability and exploitation detection and management in the IoT environment, with a particular reference to the methods and approach developed by the INTERSECT consortium. The project will identify the applicable data protection norms and principles, delineate their scope, and formulate recommendations for the pursuit of an optimal trade-off between IoT security and personal data protection. It involves the analysis of EU law and policy, but also a working awareness of the relevant information, application, and network security issues, with particular reference to the IoT and cyber-physical systems.

Tilburg University believes that academic excellence is achieved through the combination of outstanding research and education, in which social impact is made by sharing knowledge. In doing so, we recognize that excellence is not only achieved through individual performance, but mostly through team effort in which each team member acts as a leader connecting people. 

More specifically, we are looking for a candidate who has:

• Completed a PhD in Law, preferably in the area of privacy, data protection, or cybersecurity; 
• Knowledge of, or demonstrable interest in relevant privacy and data protection, as well as cybersecurity; 
• Excellent communication skills in English, orally and in writing. Knowledge of the Dutch language would be an asset, but is not required; 
• Demonstratable interdisciplinary mindset;
• The ability to independently carry out research; 
• The ability to co-work in a research team; 
• The ability to write research proposals;
• The ability to supervise and coach students in writing their Ma thesis Law & Technology; 
• The ability to read and grade Master theses on a variety of topics;
• Demonstrates scientific integrity; 
• Contributes to an open and diversified culture of excellence.

Preferably, the candidate already has experience in working in research projects and teaching.

The successful candidate may be asked to perform other duties occasionally which are not included above, but which will be consistent with the role of Postdoc. 

Fixed-term contract: 2 years.

Tilburg University offers excellent terms of employment. We believe flexibility, development, and good employee benefits are very important. We make clear agreements on career paths and offer all kinds of facilities and schemes to maintain an optimum balance between work and private life. Tilburg University fosters diversity and inclusion; that is why we pursue an active policy for inclusive teams where diverse talents can flourish.

The starting gross salary varies between €3746 and €5127 per month (full time) based on scale 11 of the Collective Labor Agreement Dutch Universities. Tilburg University actively promotes equal and transparent salary between men and women by strictly applying predetermined parameters based on the candidate’s experience. Employees recruited from abroad may be eligible for the 30% tax facility- this means that 30% of your salary will be paid as a tax-free reimbursement.

Tilburg University offers you an employment agreement for a fixed period of 2 years and 1.0 fte (40 hours per week). 

You are entitled to a holiday allowance amounting to 8% and a year-end bonus of 8.3% of your gross yearly income. If you work 40 hours per week, you receive 41 days of paid recreational leave per year.

Please visit Working at Tilburg University for more information on our employment conditions. 

Tilburg University

Under the motto of ‘Understanding society’, Tilburg University’s more than 1,500 employees develop knowledge, transfer it to others, and bring people from various disciplines and organizations together. In this way, we want to contribute to solving complex social issues. Our focus areas are economics, business and entrepreneurship, social and behavioral sciences, law and public administration, the humanities and digital sciences, and theology. Tilburg University is internationally known for its high standards in education and scientific research, as well as its good support facilities. The Tilburg University campus offers both quietness and connectivity as it is located in a wooded park, ten minutes away from the city center, main highways, and railways. A mid-sized city of 200,000 inhabitants in the South of the Netherlands, and in proximity to cities like Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and London, Tilburg is situated at the very heart of Western Europe. 

Tilburg Law School offers highly ranked national and international education and research in law and public administration. Currently, almost 4,000 students are enrolled at Tilburg Law School. Students in Tilburg can choose from five Bachelor's programs, one of which is taught in English (Bachelor Global Law) and ten Master's programs, eight of which are taught in English. The international orientation of Tilburg Law School is reflected in these Bachelor's and Master's programs. The research conducted within Tilburg Law School is aimed at social relevance and provides students with the tools and skills to study and deal with current issues at an academic level. The research within Tilburg Law School is organized into five cross-departmental research programs: 1) Global Law and Governance; 2) New Modes of Lawmaking and Governance in a Multilayered Order; 3) Law and Security; 4) Connecting Organizations: Private, Fiscal and Technology-Driven Legal Relations in a Sustainable Society; and 5) Law and Technology.

Tilburg Institute for Law, Technology, and Society (TILT)
TILT is one of the leading research groups in Europe at the intersection of law, technology, and society. It is premised on the multidisciplinary study of socio-technical change, aiming at understanding the interaction of technology and social and normative practices, in order to clarify how regulatory challenges of socio-technical change can be addressed.