Job Description

Assistant Professor - Safe Large Language Models (110571-0925)

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Location
University of Warwick Campus, Coventry
Department
WMG
Position Type
Fixed Term
Duration
Fixed Term Contract for 24 months
Salary
47,389 - 56,535 per annum
About the Role

For informal enquiries, please contact

Siddartha Khastgir (Professor)

s.khastgir.1@warwick.ac.uk

and Xingyu Zhao (Associate Professor) at

Xingyu.Zhao@warwick.ac.uk

As an Assistant Professor (Research) in our Safe Autonomy Research Group, you'll lead groundbreaking research on the safety of Large Language Models (LLMs) in safety critical domains like autonomous transport--land, air, and marine. Unlike conventional positions, this role places you at the heart of real-world impact: influencing international safety standards, policy, and industrial practices through projects like the Horizon Europe-funded CERTAIN, AIGGREGATE and EEA4CCAM.


You'll collaborate with global academic and industry partners to tackle frontier challenges, from fine-tuning LLMs for safety-critical applications to developing novel methods for AI alignment, agentic architectures, and multimodal grounding.


With minimal teaching responsibilities and a strong research focus, you'll dedicate your energy to cutting-edge work: securing grants, publishing transformative studies, and building tools that ensure generative AI acts reliably in the real world. Mentorship opportunities and our established ecosystem provide unmatched career growth, while our partnerships with Innovate UK, Horizon Europe, and leading industrial players offer unparalleled resources.



About You
You're a PhD-qualified researcher pioneering safe AI deployment, with deep expertise in Large Language Models (LLMs), agentic architectures, and multimodal systems. Your background includes hands-on work in LLM fine-tuning, safety alignment, and RAG frameworks for high-stakes domains like autonomous transport. You bring a proven track record of high-impact publications, coupled with the ability to translate complex research for academic, industry, and policy audiences. Passionate about embedding ethical governance into real-world AI systems, you thrive in collaborative environments and excel at driving safety research from concept to standards-influencing solutions. You're motivated to shape the future of responsible AI in autonomous systems (land/air/marine)

For details on the experience and skills required, please refer to the

About the Department
The Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) is the largest department at the University of Warwick, with over 800 staff and nearly 3,000 students across undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in management, technology, and applied engineering.


We are globally recognised for our world-class research, innovative industry partnerships, and teaching excellence, and we are proud holders of the

Athena SWAN Silver Award

and the

Institutional Silver Award.

Find out more about the High Value Manufacturing Catapult centre.


Find out more about the Energy Innovation Centre.


Find out more about our range of undergraduate and apprenticeship degrees here.



About the University
We are a world-leading research-intensive university founded in 1965. We are ranked

67th in the world

and

10th in the UK.

92% of our research is rated world-leading or internationally excellent.*


Find out more about us on our website.

QS World University Rankings 2024, Research Excellence Framework 2021


How to Apply

CLOSING DEADLINE: Tuesday 30th September 2025 at 23:55

To apply, please click "Apply" below and submit an application form by the closing deadline. You will be asked to include a CV and a cover letter.

Your CV should include:

Your education and employment history (including your most recent employment). Any other relevant experience (e.g. volunteering, extracurricular, etc.).

Your cover letter should explain:

Your motivations for applying to the role. Using examples, how you meet the essential and desirable criteria detailed in the

All essential criteria must be met by candidates who are invited to interview.


For guidance on writing a cover letter, see here.

Interview Date:

To be confirmed

Start Date:

As soon as possible

Please note application forms must be submitted before the stated deadline - you will not be able to submit after 23:55 (even if you opened the form earlier). Only applications submitted via our official careers portal (warwick-careers.tal.net) will be considered.



What we Offer
We provide a comprehensive range of benefits, including:

An attractive pension scheme. 30 days holiday plus University Christmas closure. Generous parental/adoption leave policy. Onsite childcare facilities. Excellent learning and development opportunities.

We recognise the importance of a healthy work/life balance and offer access to flexible working arrangements. For more information, see here.


We are proud to be a Living Wage employer.



Our Commitment to Inclusion

Equality, Diversity, & Inclusion

Warwick is committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive and respectful community where everyone can thrive. We welcome applications from all backgrounds, cultures, and communities, and actively encourage candidates from underrepresented groups to apply.


Find out more about our Social Inclusion work at Warwick.


Find out more about our awards and accreditations.


We are also one of the six founder institutions of the EUTOPIA European University Alliance.

Safeguarding & DBS

The University of Warwick is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all those we work with.

Roles involving regulated activity are subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check at the appropriate level, in line with the DBS Code of Practice. The University will ensure that anyone subject to a barring order does not undertake any work with the barred group (children and/or adults). All employees, volunteers, and partners are expected to share our commitment to safeguarding.

Rehabilitation of Ex-Offenders

The University will not discriminate against applicants who make a disclosure relating to a conviction.


Disclosures at application stage are only visible to the DBS team, not to hiring panels. This ensures fairness and removes bias from the shortlisting process.



Right to Work in the UK
If you do not yet have the right to work in the UK and/or are seeking sponsorship for a Skilled Worker visa, please follow this link which contains further information about obtaining the right to work in the UK.