Assistant Professor Security, Cloud Computing and Big Data

Do you want to contribute to foundational and experimental security (FSec Group: https://vu.nl/en/about-vu/faculties/faculty-of-science/more-about/foundational-and-experimental-security-computer-science), with a focus on Cloud computing, the use of data analysis and AI techniques to quantify, evaluate, and understand security? Do you want to work in close collaboration with our colleagues in system security, software engineering, and artificial intelligence? Then, please apply for this Assistant Professor (career track) position at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU).

The research of the Foundational and Experimental Security Group is at the intersection between Security, Software Engineering, and Risk Analysis.

We aim at the formalization and sound empirical evaluation of security methodologies and solutions from risk assessment and threat analysis to mining software vulnerabilities and analyzing Java and cloud microservices. The empirical approach allows us to solve security problems and defend against adversaries that are real instead of dark lords of our own making, using various applications as test cases. We are particularly interested in how AI, Data Science, or Machine Learning techniques can be used to quantify and assess software and system security from open source software to cloud services.

Understanding and quantifying large repositories of data is key to making security effective in practice, and expertise in this area is a prerequisite, as is expertise in the design of such data analysis using, e.g., mining large software repositories, or other empirical research methods.

We consider collaboration with industry a plus, as it is a great source of challenging problems to solve, as well as data to analyze. See our group page (https://vu.nl/en/about-vu/faculties/faculty-of-science/more-about/foundational-and-experimental-security-computer-science) for more information or VU’s work.

Your duties
The position includes research, education, and management (40%, 40%, 20%) and contains, among others, the following responsibilities:

• Conducting research in cloud computing, artificial intelligence and data analytics, software engineering, and security
• Supervising PhD students
• Teaching in the Bachelor's and Master's programmes of the Department of Computer Science, either in computer science or artificial intelligence
• Supervising MSc/BSc student research projects in the Department
• Contributing to and writing research grant proposals
• Contributing to administrative tasks

• A PhD degree in a relevant field and possibly some years of scientific experience in post-doctoral research
• Expertise in the application of cloud services, large-scale data and repository collection, or human subject studies in the context of software and security
• Interdisciplinary mindset and a good team player; experience in collaboration across teams, e.g., in large collaborative projects is a plus
• Ideally, experience in teaching at the BSc or MSc level
• Ideally, some experience co-supervise students

As a university, we strive for equal opportunities for all, recognising that diversity takes many forms. We believe that diversity in all its complexity is invaluable for the quality of our teaching, research and service. We are always looking for talent with diverse backgrounds and experiences. This also means that we are committed to creating an inclusive community so that we can use diversity as an asset.

We realise that each individual brings a unique set of skills, expertise and mindset. Therefore we are happy to invite anyone who recognises themselves in the profile to apply, even if you do not meet all the requirements.

A challenging career track position in a socially engaged organisation from Assistant Professor 2 to Assistant Professor 1. The initial contract will have a duration of 18 months. After a successful evaluation in your 15th month, permanent employment will be granted. At VU Amsterdam, you contribute to education, research and service for a better world. And that is valuable. So in return for your efforts, we offer you:

• a salary of minimum € 4.728,00 (Scale 11) and maximum € 6.433,00 (Scale 11) gross per month, on a full-time basis. This is based on UFO profile Lecturer / Assistant Professor 2. The exact salary depends on your education and experience.
• a position for at least 0.8 FTE.

We also offer you attractive fringe benefits and regulations. Some examples:

• A full-time 38-hour working week comes with a holiday leave entitlement of 232 hours per year. If you choose to work 40 hours, you have 96 extra holiday leave hours on an annual basis. For part-timers, this is calculated pro rata.
• 8% holiday allowance and 8.3% end-of-year bonus
• solid pension scheme (ABP)
• contribution to commuting expenses
• optional model for designing a personalized benefits package

About the Computer Science Department
The Department has approximately 180 staff members, including 90 PhD students. University research and teaching staff is a critical and essential basis for the functioning of the department, providing foundational education that helps determine the future of our students. Currently, we offer programs in Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Information Sciences (BSc and MSc), Bioinformatics and Systems Biology (MSc), with a total of around 1000 new students each year.

The department explicitly encourages inter- and cross disciplinary research, and expects the successful candidate to be able to collaborate with colleagues in other fields of Computer Science (e.g. Artificial Intelligence and Quantitative Data Analytics, Software and Sustainability, or System Security), as well as with colleagues from other institutes such as CWI.

A large share of interdisciplinary research with the department is embedded in the Network Institute of Vrije Universiteit, covering disciplines such as Social sciences, Humanities, and Economics. The Department also actively participates in Amsterdam Data Science, a collaboration between more than 600 data science researchers from different institutions in Amsterdam and AMSec, the Amsterdam security collaborative center with researchers from different institutions in Amsterdam.

Faculty of Science
Working at the Faculty of Science means collaborating with students, lecturers and researchers who are focused on their field, yet have a broad view of the world. We are proud of a positive and inclusive workplace culture within the faculty, where we work together with great energy and a pragmatic attitude to tackle social challenges. At the Faculty of Science, scientists and students work on fundamental and complex societal issues for a sustainable, healthy and just future.

From forest fires to big data, from obesity to malnutrition, from helium to the universe and from genetics to medicine: our education and research cover the full breadth of science, from molecules to mankind. Our academic education and research are highly experimental, technical and interdisciplinary in nature. That is why we collaborate extensively with leading scientific institutes and industry. The faculty has more than 8,000 students studying in one of the 39 programms and employs more than 1,400 staff across 10 scientific departments, making us one of the largest science faculties in the Netherlands.

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam stands for values-driven education and research. We are open-minded experts with the ability to think freely - a broader mind. Maintaining an entrepreneurial perspective and concentrating on diversity, significance and humanity, we work on sustainable solutions with social impact. By joining forces, across the boundaries of disciplines, we work towards a better world for people and planet. Together we create a safe and respectful working and study climate, and an inspiring environment for education and research. Learn more about our codes of conduct

We are located on one physical campus, in the heart of Amsterdam's Zuidas business district, with excellent location and accessibility. Over 6,150 staff work at the VU and over 31,000 students attend academic education.

Diversity
Diversity is the driving force of VU Amsterdam. VU wants to be accessible and receptive to diversity in disciplines, cultures, ideas, nationalities, beliefs, preferences and worldviews. We believe that trust, respect, interest and differences lead to new insights and innovation, to sharpness and clarity, to excellence and a broader understanding.

We stand for an inclusive community and believe that diversity and internationalisation contribute to the quality of education, research and our services.

Therefore, we are always searching for people whose backgrounds and experience contribute to the diversity of the VU community.

Are you interested in this position and do you believe that your experience will contribute to the further development of our university? In that case, we encourage you to submit your application until 31 March 2026.

Vacancy questions
If you have any questions regarding this vacancy, you may contact:

Name: Fabio Massacci
Position: Full Professor
E-mail: f.massacci@vu.nl
Telephone: +31-20-5-98-60-98

Name: Mengyuan Zhang
Position: Assistant Professor
E-mail: m.zhang@vu.nl

Relocation support
If you have any questions regarding moving to Amsterdam, and working at VU Amsterdam, you may contact:

Relocation Advisor
E-mail: relocations@vu.nl
Telephone: +31 (20) 59 86212

Applications received by e-mail will not be considered.

Acquisition in response to this advertisement is not appreciated.