Senior Faculty-Level or Equivalent Position - AI Interpretability, Alignment, and Safe Scientific AI

Working at Binghamton University is more than about having a great job - it is about having the opportunity to flourish in an exciting, engaging environment. Our faculty and staff appreciate Binghamton's collegial and inclusive culture and its commitment to excellence, education, innovation, and civic engagement. Our diverse campus community contributes to our success.

Binghamton merges rigorous academics, distinguished faculty who value cutting-edge, and community-engaged research, teaching and service, exceptional staff, and ultramodern facilities to engage and challenge its 18,000+ students. Our high-achieving student body represents diverse experiences from first-generation college-goers to international students. Beyond their talent, these classmates share a desire to shape the future through technology, insight, intellectual exploration, and community service.

Job Description

The School of Computing in the Thomas J. Watson College of Engineering and Applied Science at Binghamton University (The State University of New York at Binghamton) invites applications for a senior faculty-level or equivalent position, with an expected start date of September 1, 2027. The primary focus of this search is on established academic researchers for appointment at the tenured Associate Professor or Full Professor level, as appropriate. Exceptionally accomplished senior research and technical leaders from industry, government, or research laboratories will also be considered for an appropriate appointment.

We seek an established scholar and research leader with an outstanding record of externally sponsored research and scholarly impact in the broad area of AI Interpretability, Alignment, and Safe Scientific AI. We are particularly interested in candidates whose research advances the foundational understanding, computational methods, and practical capabilities needed to understand, align, verify, and safely deploy advanced AI systems, especially in scientific and engineering applications.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

• AI Interpretability and Explainability: Developing mathematical, computational, and empirical methods to understand the internal representations, mechanisms, reasoning processes, and decision-making behavior of AI systems.
• AI Alignment and Control: Advancing methods for aligning AI systems with human values, intended objectives, and operational constraints, including scalable oversight, preference learning, robust objective specification, and the control of advanced AI behavior.
• Safe Scientific AI: Developing AI systems that can be trusted in scientific discovery, engineering design, and other high-consequence applications, including methods for ensuring physical consistency, scientific validity, uncertainty awareness, and reliable decision-making.
• Trustworthy AI Systems: Developing methods for evaluating, validating, and securing AI systems, including robustness, adversarial resilience, uncertainty quantification, and the detection and mitigation of unsafe or unintended behavior.

The successful candidate will provide intellectual leadership in this rapidly evolving field, develop a nationally and internationally recognized research program, and pursue significant external funding from federal and state agencies, industry, and other sponsors. The candidate will also be expected to lead and participate in large-scale, multidisciplinary research initiatives and strengthen collaborative research across the School of Computing, the Watson College, and other academic and research units across Binghamton University and the broader SUNY system.

As a senior faculty hire, the successful candidate will contribute to expanding the School of Computing's research portfolio and strategic capabilities. The candidate will help build a vibrant research community through collaboration, mentorship, and the recruitment of outstanding faculty, postdoctoral researchers, and graduate students. The candidate will also contribute to undergraduate and graduate education and mentor students and junior faculty, as appropriate to the candidate's appointment and background.

Research Environment

The position will be affiliated with the newly launched $55 million New York Center for AI Responsibility and Research (CAIRR) at Binghamton University- one of the nation's emerging centers focused on safe, responsible, and trustworthy artificial intelligence. The Center brings together researchers working across technological, societal, and policy dimensions of AI and is intended to serve as a premier AI research hub for the State University of New York system, advancing transparent, accountable, secure, and public-focused AI technologies.

The successful candidate will have an opportunity to help shape the Center's research agenda and develop collaborative initiatives at the intersection of AI interpretability, alignment, safe scientific AI, cybersecurity, trustworthy computing, and responsible AI. The position is particularly well suited to a scholar or senior research and technology leader interested in building interdisciplinary research teams and pursuing ambitious, externally funded research programs addressing emerging challenges.
Candidates from industry, government, or research laboratories should demonstrate a record of substantial technical or research leadership and the ability to contribute to the Center's research mission through research collaboration, technology development, industry partnerships, sponsored research, translation of research into practice, and/or other forms of high-impact innovation.

The School of Computing and the Watson College are committed to building a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative environment for teaching, research, and professional engagement. We particularly welcome candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in their teaching, mentoring, research, and professional activities. Historically underrepresented minorities, women, persons with disabilities, and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications

1. Doctoral degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a closely related discipline.
2. Demonstrated record of externally sponsored research commensurate with appointment at the Associate or Full Professor level.
3. Record of peer-reviewed scholarly publications and demonstrated research impact in an area relevant to the position.
4. Record of effective teaching and research mentoring at the undergraduate and/or graduate levels.

For exceptional candidates whose primary experience is outside a traditional academic setting, equivalent evidence of research leadership, technical innovation, and significant impact may be considered in evaluating qualifications for the position.

Preferred Qualifications

1. Strong and sustained record of externally sponsored research, including significant support from federal agencies and/or industry.
2. National or international recognition for scholarly contributions in AI interpretability, alignment, safe scientific AI, or a closely related area.
3. Demonstrated success in leading or contributing to large-scale, interdisciplinary, multi-institutional, or industry-academic research collaborations.
4. Demonstrated ability to develop and lead ambitious research initiatives and pursue major collaborative funding opportunities.
5. Experience mentoring graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and/or junior faculty and building high-performing research teams.
6. Evidence of translating research into practice through industry partnerships, software systems, technology development, technology transfer, standards development, policy engagement, or other forms of societal impact.
7. Research expertise that complements and strengthens existing capabilities in AI, cybersecurity, trustworthy computing, autonomous and physical AI systems, quantum technologies, microelectronics, or other strategic areas at Binghamton University.

Please be advised that H1B visa sponsorship may not be available for this position.

Additional Information

Binghamton University is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities in employment, its services, programs, and activities. To request reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, please contact the ADA Coordinator by completing the following Request Form.

The State University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. It is the policy of Binghamton University to provide for and promote equal opportunity employment, compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment without discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, disability, national origin, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, veteran or military service member status, marital status, domestic violence victim status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, or arrest and/or criminal conviction record unless based upon a bona fide occupational qualification or other exception.

As required by title IX and its implementing regulations, Binghamton University does not discriminate on the basis of sex in the educational programs and activities which it operates. This requirement extends to employment and admission. Inquiries about sex discrimination may be directed to the University Title IX Coordinator or directly to the Office of Civil Rights (OCR). Contact information for the Title IX Coordinator and OCR, as well as the University's complete Non-Discrimination Notice may be found here.

Pursuant to Executive Order 161, no State entity, as defined by the Executive Order, is permitted to ask, or mandate, in any form, that an applicant for employment provide his or her current compensation, or any prior compensation history, until such time as the applicant is extended a conditional offer of employment with compensation. If such information has been requested from you before such time, please contact the Governor's Office of Employee Relations at (518) 474-6988 or via email at info@goer.ny.gov.

Binghamton University is a tobacco-free campus effective August 1, 2017.

Offers of employment will be contingent upon successful completion of a pre-employment background check and verification of degree(s) and credentials.

Application Instructions

All applicants must apply via Interview Exchange: http://binghamton.interviewexchange.com/jobofferdetails.jsp?JOBID=205590

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the vacancy is filled.

After filling out contact information, you will be directed to an upload page where you must submit:

• a cover letter,
• a curriculum vitae,
• a statement of research interests,
• a statement of teaching interests,
• a diversity statement, and
• names and contact information of three references.

For candidates whose primary professional experience is in non-academic setting, the application materials should clearly describe their research and development leadership, sponsored research or externally supported technical programs, major technical accomplishments, and contributions to research or technology innovation.

Deadline for Applications: Open until filled.

To check/edit your profile or to upload additional documents, please log into http://binghamton.interviewexchange.com/login.jsp.