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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.