Postdoctoral Research Associate

Job description

Job Title
Postdoctoral Research Associate


Agency
Texas A&M University - Corpus Christi


Department
College of Engineering-Computing Sciences



Proposed Minimum Salary
Commensurate



Job Location
Corpus Christi, Texas



Job Type
Staff



Job Description

TAMU-CC is a dynamic university designated as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) with approximately 11,000 students from 47 states and 54 foreign nations.

We employ over 1,400 full-time and 2,000 part-time Islanders (including students/GAs).

The University attracts highly talented faculty and staff and offers an array of undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral programs.

As a member of the Texas A&M University System, TAMU-CC benefits from a range of resources, increased visibility and influence, and opportunities to collaborate in mutually beneficial ways with peers across member institutions and associated agencies.




TAMU-CC’s beautiful campus is located on a 240-acre island on Corpus Christi Bay and was ranked #1 College by the Sea by Best College Reviews.

Our natural setting is enhanced by its modern, attractive, and state-of-the-art classroom buildings and support facilities.




Learn more information here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwQR4HbGJu0) !


PURPOSE

The Collective Intelligence in Motion (CIM) Lab at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) seeks a Postdoctoral Researcher to advance secure, low-latency communications and AI-driven control for autonomous vehicle systems with an emphasis on 5G/6G Open RAN (near-RT RIC, xApps/rApps) and vehicular edge computing.

The postdoc will design and evaluate networking architectures and protocols, develop machine-learning methods for decision-making, and validate results on lab testbeds.

Collaborating with experts in cybersecurity and computer science, the researcher will publish high-quality work and deliver software artifacts that strengthen the security, robustness, and performance of connected autonomous systems.




RESPONSIBILITIES

Research & Publications: 35%
+ Conduct original research in NextG (5G/6G) with emphasis on O-RAN (near-RT RIC, xApps/rApps), network security, and spectrum management.
+ Design and evaluate AI/ML methods (DL/RL/LLMs/FL) for network automation and decision-making in autonomous/vehicular systems.
+ Lead high-quality publications and create reproducible artifacts (code, datasets, experiment scripts).





Systems, Security & Testbeds: 35%
+ Build and operate prototypes on lab testbeds (e.g., O-RAN SC/srsRAN/OAI/ns-3), integrating SMO/RIC pipelines and UAV/vehicular edge components.
+ Implement rigorous experiments, data pipelines, and performance evaluations; harden systems with best security practices (PKI/TLS, RBAC, secure CI/CD).
+ Release open-source software packages and documentation; maintain benchmarks and continuous integration for reproducibility.





Collaboration, Proposals & Mentoring: 30%
+ Contribute to proposals and collaborate across academia/industry partners to secure funding and deliver joint milestones.
+ Mentor graduate and undergraduate researchers (project planning, experiments, writing) and foster a collaborative, high-performance lab environment.
+ Support knowledge transfer: internal tech talks, guest lectures/modules tied to lab testbeds, and external demos with stakeholders.





QUALIFICATIONS
+ Doctoral degree in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or a closely related field.
+ Foundation in network security for 5G/6G and O-RAN, including TLS 1.2/1.3 with mTLS, PKI/X.509 and certificate lifecycle, IPsec/MACsec, RBAC/ABAC, and secure key/secrets management.
+ Familiarity with O-RAN architecture and interfaces (A1, E2, O1/O2, Open Fronthaul) and their security implications in SMO/near-RT RIC deployments.
+ Experience with secure software engineering: threat modeling, secure coding/code review, dependency/SBOM management, container/Kubernetes security, and reproducible experiments.
+ Strong programming skills (e.g., Python/C++); ability to prototype and evaluate security controls on cloud-native stacks (Docker, Kubernetes, Helm).
+ Records of scholarship including designing research protocols, conducting studies/experiments, and authoring peer-reviewed papers.
+ Excellent writing, communication, and presentation skills; demonstrated ability to work in a collaborative, multidisciplinary team and meet deadlines on multiple projects.






PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
+ Hands-on with O-RAN SC/srsRAN/OAI and secure RIC/SMO deployments (e.g., Kubernetes RBAC, NetworkPolicies, Pod Security, service-mesh mTLS such as Istio/Linkerd).
+ Experience implementing/assessing identity and access for xApps/rApps and SMO northbound APIs (OAuth2/OIDC, JWT, fine-grained policy), and multi-tenant isolation.
+ Knowledge of relevant standards and guidance (e.g., 3GPP TS 33.501, O-RAN WG11 Security) and ability to translate normative controls into testable checklists.
+ Applied AI/ML for network security/automation (DL/RL/LLMs/RAG/FL) including anomaly detection, policy learning, or intrusion detection in RAN/edge systems.
+ Practical experience with MATLAB, ns-3 (or srsRAN/OAI/O-RAN SC), Python, and JavaScript; familiarity with tools such as Wireshark/eBPF is a plus.
+ Strong publication record (Q1 journals and/or top-tier conferences); prior mentoring and proposal contributions are desirable.





SALARY: Up to $4,583.34 Monthly ($55,000.08 Annually, Approximately)
+ NOTE: This is a grant funded position.

Continued employment contingent upon available funding.





BENEFITS (rules, policies, eligibility apply)

From our generous benefits package (https://www.tamucc.edu/human-resources/benefits/index.php) and professional development opportunities, to our retirement programs and our commitment to service excellence, the Island University is an engaging and rewarding place to work.




INSURANCE: (https://assets.system.tamus.edu/files/benefits/website/BenefitsGuide.pdf)
+ Medical
+ $0 - $30 per month for Employee Only coverage after university contribution ($920 value).
+ Up to 83% of premium covered by the university:
+ Employee and Spouse
+ Employee and Children
+ Employee and Family coverage
+ Dental & Vision
+ Life Insurance, Accidental D&D, Long Term Disability, Flexible Spending Account and Day Care Spending Account



DUAL CAREER PARTNER PROGRAM (https://www.tamucc.edu/human-resources/careers/dual-career-partner/index.php)


ON-CAMPUS WELLNESS OPPORTUNITIES


Work Life Solutions: (https://www.tamucc.edu/human-resources/benefits/eap.php)
+ Counseling, Work Life Assistance, Financial Resources, and Legal Resources



Tuition Benefits: (https://www.tamucc.edu/human-resources/benefits/tuition/index.php)
+ Public Loan Forgiveness
+ Book scholarships
+ 100% tuition coverage for up to 18 credit hours per fiscal year (other rules may apply).



Retirement (https://www.tamucc.edu/human-resources/benefits/retirement-programs.php) :
+ Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) or Optional Retirement Plan (ORP)
+ Voluntary Tax Deferred Account/Deferred Compensation Plan



Time Off (https://www.tamucc.edu/human-resources/time-off/index.php) :
+ 8+ hours of vacation paid time off every month.
+ 8 hours of sick leave time off every month.
+ 8 hours of paid time off for Birthday leave.
+ 12-15 paid holidays each year.



All positions are security-sensitive.

Applicants are subject to a criminal history investigation, and employment is contingent upon the institution’s verification of credentials and/or other information required by the institution’s procedures, including the completion of the criminal history check.


Equal Opportunity/Veterans/Disability Employer.

Required Skill Profession

Other General