Job Information
Organisation/Company: Politehnica University of Timisoara
Department: Department of Automation and Applied Informatics
Research Field: Computer science » Systems design; Technology » Communication technology; Engineering » Electronic engineering
Researcher Profile: Established Researcher (R3)
Positions: Postdoc Positions
Application Deadline: 1 Sep 2026 - 16:00 (Europe/Bucharest)
Country: Romania
Type of Contract: Temporary
Job Status: Part-time
Hours Per Week: 7-9
Offer Starting Date: 15 Sep 2026
Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme
Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No
Offer Description
Scientific researcher position available within the DEFEND research project: “Designing Security for Emerging In-Vehicle Network Paradigms”, project number PN-IV-P2-2.1-TE-2023-0474.
Part-time position in automotive security for the duration of the project.
Where to apply
E-mail: stefan.murvay@upt.ro
Requirements
Research Field
Computer science » Systems design
Education Level
PhD or equivalent
Skills/Qualifications
- PhD degree in Computer science and engineering, Systems engineering, Information Technology or a related field;
- Strong knowledge of cybersecurity and cryptography applied to the automotive field;
- Knowledge of embedded systems and hardware features relevant to cybersecurity;
- Knowledge of communication standards and protocols used in the automotive industry;
- Over 10 years of research experience in automotive cybersecurity, demonstrated by publications in Q1 reference journals from prestigious publishers;
- Advanced level of English (reading, speaking & writing, including scientific writing) and Romanian (reading, speaking & writing);
Specific Requirements
- Knowledge of the ISO/SAE 21434 standard as well as UN Regulations No. 155 and No. 156 regarding automotive cybersecurity;
- Professional and/or research experience with the AUTOSAR standard and associated automotive software architectures;
- Experience with vulnerability analysis of electronic systems and communication protocols used in in-vehicle networks with centralized zonal topologies, in accordance with the ISO/SAE 21434 standard;
- Experience with the development of intrusion detection mechanisms for in-vehicle automotive communication protocols;
- Previous experience with the design and validation of mechanisms for securing automotive communication;
- Ability to contribute to scientific publications, technical reports, and project deliverables
- Ability to work effectively in a research team, contribute to the achievement of project objectives and meet research project deadlines.
Languages
- ENGLISH - Level: Good
- ROMANIAN - Level: Good
Research Field
Computer science » Other
Years of Research Experience
More than 10
Internal Application form(s) needed
Formular de inscriere.pdf (198.94 KB - PDF)
Acord privind prelucrarea datelor cu caracter personal.pdf (106.59 KB - PDF)
Additional Information
Benefits
Depending on the annual budget and the number of hours worked, the gross salary ranges between 3,500 and 5,200 RON
Eligibility criteria
Eligible candidates must fulfill the qualifications and specific requirements (listed above) as well as the general requirements and must submit a complete application dossier as described next.
General requirements
A person who meets the following conditions may occupy a vacant or temporarily vacant position:
- holds Romanian citizenship or the citizenship of another Member State of the European Union, a State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), or the Swiss Confederation;
- speaks and writes Romanian;
- has full capacity to work in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 53/2003 – the Labor Code, republished, as subsequently amended and supplemented;
- meets the medical fitness requirements corresponding to the position applied for, certified by a medical certificate issued by a physician or authorized healthcare facility;
- fulfills the education, professional experience/seniority requirements, and, as applicable, other specific criteria according to the job requirements of the position;
- has not been final-convicted of an offense against national security, against authority, against humanity, offenses of corruption or misconduct in office, forgery, or against the administration of justice, or offenses committed with intent that would make the candidate incompatible with the exercise of the contractual position, unless rehabilitation has intervened;
- is not serving a complementary penalty prohibiting the exercise of the right to hold the position, practice the profession or trade, or carry out the activity used to commit the offense, nor is subject to a safety measure banning them from holding a position or practicing a profession;
- has not committed the offenses provided for in Art. 1 para. (2) of Law No. 118/2019 on the automated national registry regarding persons who have committed sexual offenses, offenses involving human exploitation, or offenses against minors, as well as supplementing Law No. 76/2008 on the organization and operation of the National Judicial Genetic Data System, as amended.
Application dossier
(1) In order to apply for the selection procedure for a vacant research position, the candidate shall submit an application dossier containing the following documents:
- signed application form, accompanied by a self-declaration attesting to the accuracy of the information provided in the dossier;
- proposal for scientific career development from the perspective of scientific research activities, maximum 5 pages;
- Curriculum Vitae, signed by the candidate;
- list of scientific publications, works, articles/studies, and patents selected by the candidate based on their relevance to their own scientific research activities;
- verification sheets regarding the fulfillment of minimal standards and the research organization's own standards, completed and signed by the candidate, as applicable, except for the situation regulated under point f);
- proof of holding the professional research rank corresponding to the position applied for, the verification sheet regarding the fulfillment of the research organization's own standards, as applicable, completed and signed by the candidate, and the self-evaluation sheet regarding the minimal standards in force at the time of the selection procedure, completed and signed by the candidate, only for candidates who hold the scientific rank of Senior Researcher II (CS II) or Senior Researcher I (CS I) corresponding to the position applied for;
- copy of the Bachelor's degree or equivalent / Master's / Ph.D. diploma, as applicable. If the winning candidate does not hold a diploma issued by a higher education institution in Romania, they must submit a certified true copy of the recognition or equivalence certificate prior to employment and the signing of the individual employment contract, under penalty of non-issuance of the administrative appointment act;
- copy of the identity document or any other document proving identity according to the law, as applicable;
- copy of the marriage certificate or proof of name change, as applicable;
- medical certificate attesting to a state of health corresponding to the fulfillment of job duties, issued by the candidate’s family physician or authorized healthcare facilities, no more than 3 months prior to the selection procedure;
- medical clearance issued by a specialist psychiatrist attesting to a state of health corresponding to the fulfillment of job duties;
- signed consent declaration for personal data processing;
- criminal record certificate;
- behavioral integrity certificate (non-sex offender registry clearance);
- copy of the employment record book or employment certificate issued by the employer for the worked period, attesting to work experience and seniority in the specialty required for the position.
(2) The candidate's Curriculum Vitae must include:
- completed studies and obtained diplomas/degrees;
- professional experience and relevant previous employment;
- research-development and innovation projects led as principal investigator/project director and obtained grants, if applicable, indicating for each the funding source, project budget, and main resulting scientific publications or patents;
- awards or other forms of recognition of scientific contribution;
- a narrative description of the top 3 most significant achievements related to the field of the selection procedure — maximum 3 pages.
(3) The application dossier must contain the list of scientific publications, works, articles/studies, and patents considered by the candidate to be relevant to the domain of the position applied for. The list is structured as follows:
- a list of up to 10 most relevant scientific publications, such as authored books, articles/studies/chapters, edited volumes, and conference papers;
- list of patents and other industrial property titles;
- list of authored books and edited/published volumes;
- list of full-length articles/studies published in journals within the main international scientific stream;
- list of other works and scientific contributions or, as applicable, in the field of artistic creation or national defense;
- candidate works that are not available electronically shall be submitted as a hard copy in the application dossier or on electronic media by the application deadline.
(4) The application dossier is submitted by the candidate in electronic format to the email address indicated in the vacancy announcement, or in physical format at the headquarters of the research organization.
(5) The secretary of the selection committee registers the application dossier, communicates the registration number to the candidate, and forwards the dossier to the members of the selection committee under the conditions established by the internal selection regulations.
(6) The secretary of the selection committee verifies whether the application dossier is complete on the day of receipt and registration. If the dossier is incomplete, the secretary requests clarifications from the candidate, and the candidate may complete the application dossier until the deadline for dossier submission expires.
(7) In exercising the duties provided under paragraphs (5) and (6), the secretary of the selection committee collaborates with the human resources officers in the research organization under the conditions set out in the internal selection regulations.
(8) The candidate's fulfillment of legal conditions for participating in the selection procedure is certified by the legal endorsement (aviz juridic) of the specialized department within the research organization, following the verification of standards fulfillment by the selection committee, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 15 para. (3).
Selection process
The selection process consists of an application dossier evaluation phase and an interview.
1. Application dossier selection
Application dossiers submitted will be checked for the fulfillment of the following criteria:
- Compliance with dossier submission conditions and deadlines
- Presence of all requested documents
- Fulfillment of general eligibility requirements, based on supporting documents
- Fulfillment of specific eligibility requirements, based on supporting documents
Results of the screening process will be published on 02.09.2026. Appeals against the results of the dossier selection can be submitted within one working day from the date of posting the results.
Only candidates that successfully pass the initial dossier selection will participate in the interview.
2. Interview
Candidates participating in the interview phase will be evaluated based on the following criteria:
- Relevance of publications, skills, and qualifications
- Professional experience relevant to the project activities
- Position-specific skills and competencies
- Quality and relevance of the presentation regarding development plan/participation in the project
Scoring: 0–100 points; Minimum passing score: 50 points
Location: Faculty of Automation and Computers, room A302, no. 2 Vasile Parvan blvd., Timisoara, Timis, Romania
Date: 04.09.2026, the interview will be announced via email to all qualified participants
Interview results will be published on 04.09.2026. Candidates can submit an appeal within one working day from the publishing of the results. Appeals will be answered within one working day of appeal submission deadline.
Final results will be published on 08.09.2026.
Interview topics and bibliography:
- 1. Anderson, R. (2020). Security engineering: A guide to building dependable distributed systems (3rd ed.). Wiley. ISBN: 978-1-119-64278-7;
- 2. Boneh, D., & Shoup, V. (2023). A graduate course in applied cryptography (Version 0.6). Online textbook. Available at: https://toc.cryptobook.us;
- 3. Paret, D. & Rebaine H. (2022). Autonomous and Connected Vehicles: Network Architectures from Legacy Networks to Automotive Ethernet. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN: 9781119816126;
- 4. AUTOSAR. (2025). AUTOSAR Classic Platform, Release R25-11. AUTOSAR;
- 6. International Organization for Standardization & SAE International. (2021). ISO/SAE 21434:2021: Road vehicles - Cybersecurity engineering (1st ed.). ISO;
- 7. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). (2021). UN Regulation No. 155 – Cybersecurity and Cybersecurity Management System. UNECE R155;
- 8. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). (2021). UN Regulation No. 156 – Software Update and Software Update Management System. UNECE R156;
- 9. International Organization for Standardization. (2024). ISO 11898-1:2024 Road vehicles - Controller area network (CAN), Part 1: Data link layer and physical coding sublayer;
- 10. International Organization for Standardization. (2013). ISO 17458-2:2013 Road vehicles - FlexRay communications system, Part 2: Data link layer specification;
- 11. IEEE Standards Association. (2025). IEEE 802.1DG-2025: IEEE Standard for Local and metropolitan area networks - Time-Sensitive Networking Profile for Automotive In-Vehicle Ethernet Communications;
Additional comments
Additional information can be obtained at 0040256403031
Work Location(s)
Number of offers available: 1
Company/Institute: Politehnica University of Timisoara - Department of Automation and Applied Informatics
Country: Romania
State/Province: Timis
City: Timisoara
Postal Code: 300223
Street: Vasile Parvan Blvd.
Contact
State/Province: Timis
City: Timisoara
Website: http://www.aut.upt.ro/
Street: Bd. V. Parvan nr. 2
Postal Code: 300223
E-Mail: stefan.murvay@upt.ro
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