A research position in the field of formal methods at Digital Industry Centre

Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK) is a private research institution devoted to excellence in research in numerous disciplines and designated to the role of keeping the Autonomous Province of Trento in the mainstream of European and international research. The Foundation’s research activities are structured into twelve research centers, each dedicated to a specific area. Information regarding the research centers, their activities and production is available at http://www.fbk.eu/research-centers.

Workplace description

The FBK Center for Digital Industry focuses its research on digital technologies for the various domains in industry (e.g., aerospace, railway, automotive, energy, agriculture, manufacturing, etc.) by creating applications for critical systems, adaptive and autonomous systems, advanced perception, diagnostics and prediction systems. It is involved in multiple European research projects and collaborates with numerous institutions and multinational companies on strategic projects with a high innovation content – including the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Railways Network (RFI).

The position is opened by the Formal Methods for System and Software Research Unit (FM Research Unit) of the Digital Industry Center of FBK. The Unit carries out basic and applied research, tool development and technology transfer in the field of formal methods and model-based design for complex embedded systems.

FBK actively seeks diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is also committed to promoting gender equality. To promote the inclusion of disabled staff as per law 68/99, the Foundation is available and interested in evaluating the applications received for technical-scientific domains that do not correspond exactly to this call.

Job Description

FBK opens a research position in the field of formal methods to work on strategic initiatives funded by the European Space Agency (ESA) and industrial partners. The successful candidate will work in one or more of the following topics:

• Formal verification and runtime verification techniques for autonomous and safety-critical systems, including the runtime verification of AI components;
• development of runtime monitoring techniques, such as the runtime verification of 3D objects movement, and their integration into model-based design environments;
• alignment of digital models across their entire lifecycle and operational phases;
• model checking of software, hardware, embedded and cyber-physical systems.

Target applications may include autonomous systems, mission and plan monitoring, for safety-critical industrial systems in aerospace, automotive, railway, or production environments.

The activities will include:

• Research and development of formal verification and runtime monitoring techniques with target publications in conferences such CAV, TACAS, FM, and RV;
• Software development of FM unit’s tools, see https://fm.fbk.eu/category/tools.html;
• Participation in research and development projects with interaction with industrial partners;
• Documentation for project deliverables, dissemination, and training support.

The candidate is expected to work in collaboration with other researchers, programmers, and students; moreover, the candidate is expected to interact with industrial partners and partners of research projects.

Job Requirements

The ideal candidate should have:

• PhD in computer science or mathematics (or 3 years of research experience in fields related to this call);
• Software development skills (preferably in C, Python, Matlab, C++, Java);
• Ability to carry out an independent research program;
• Ability to work in a collaborative environment and deliver in research and/or industrial projects;
• Accuracy, proactivity and goal orientation;
• Oral and written proficiency in English.

In depth previous experience in at least one of the following areas is required:

• Model Checking or other formal verification techniques
• Runtime verification
• First-order logic and SMT solvers
• Verification of embedded software
• Temporal Logics and Property Specification Languages
• Formal semantics of architecture description languages

Employment

Type of contract: Fixed-term contract

Working hours: Full-time (38 h per week)

Start date: August 2026

Duration: 24 months

Gross annual salary: about € 47.182,01, plus objectives achievements bonus

Workplace: Povo, Trento (Italy)

Benefits:flexi-time, company subsidized cafeteria or meal vouchers, internal car park, welcome

office support for visa formalities and for research in accommodation, accommodation etc., supplementary pension and health fund, social security (SANIFONDS), family-work balance, free training courses, support on bank account opening, discount on public transport, sport, language course fees, counseling and psychological support service. More info at https://www.fbk.eu/en/work-with-us/

Application

Interested candidates are requested to submit their application by completing the online form (https://jobs.fbk.eu/). Please make sure that your application contains the following attachments (in pdf format):

• Detailed CV
• Motivational letter
• 3 professional references (e-mails and/or phone numbers).

Application deadline: June 19th, 2026