"Research Fellow in Mathematical Foundations of AI"

We are seeking to appoint a 3-year Research Fellow within the School of Mathematical Sciences at the University of Southampton in the research programme “Mathematical Foundations of Intelligence: Erlangen Programme for AI”

This is a 5-year programme supported by the EPSRC and is a collaboration of mathematicians and computer scientists at the University of Southampton, the University of Oxford (lead node), Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, Durham University, and the University of Aberdeen - https://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/projects/AIHub/. The programme offers an excellent opportunity for the successful candidate to develop their career in this exciting area in collaboration with some of the leading experts in the UK. The programme seeks to develop mathematical foundations of AI systems, with emphasis on criteria for robustness, reliability, and stability. Topics of interest include the study of symmetries and equivariance and their implementation in deep neural networks, mathematical criteria stability and robustness of neural networks, applications of topology and geometry to deep learning, the topology and geometry of data, or the dynamics of learning.

The successful candidate should have, or be expecting soon to receive, a PhD in Mathematics, or related field, with demonstrated research experience in the mathematical foundations of AI, as well as substantial programming experience in this or related topics.

The School of Mathematical Sciences has a strong record of providing an excellent learning and research environment. Our research portfolio spans statistics, operational research, pure mathematics, applied mathematics and theoretical physics. The University of Southampton is a member of the Alan Turing Institute, and a number of researchers from the School of Mathematical Sciences are Turing fellows. The Erlangen programme offers excellent opportunities for collaboration with a large team of scientists interested in the foundational issues of Artificial Intelligence and Deep Learning.

For further information about Mathematical Sciences at the University of Southampton please see our webpages: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/research/areas/mathematical-sciences

The post is available from now and the appointment needs to start before 1 February 2026.

Potential applicants who wish to discuss this post are encouraged to contact Professor Jacek Brodzki j.brodzki@soton.ac.uk, or Professor Ruben Sanchez-Garcia R.Sanchez-Garcia@soton.ac.uk

The School of Mathematical Sciences is committed to promoting equality and diversity and holds an Athena SWAN Silver award demonstrating this commitment. We welcome applicants from all sections of the community, regardless of gender, ethnicity, disability or sexual orientation, and will give due consideration to applicants seeking flexible working patterns and to those who have taken a career break. The University has a generous maternity policy and onsite childcare facilities and offers a range of benefits designed to help maintain and support employees' well-being and work-life balance.

*Applications will be considered from candidates who are working towards or nearing completion of a relevant PhD qualification. The title of Research Fellow will be applied upon completion of PhD. Prior to the qualification being awarded the title of Senior Research Assistant will be given.*