APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:

• CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

• CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday.

• If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click “Apply” and complete the application process for external applicants.

 

Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location. For additional information on remote work at Penn State, see Notice to Out of State Applicants.

This is a term position; length of the term will be discussed during the interview process. Continuation past the term length discussed will be based on university need, performance, and/or availability of funding.

 

POSITION SPECIFICS

The College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), https://ist.psu.edu/, at Penn State invites applications for the position of its inaugural Quantum Frontiers Postdoctoral Scholar. This year, two such positions are available, one in Quantum + security and the other in Quantum + AI. There are two separate job postings. This ad is for the Quantum + security position and is intended to advance high-impact research at the intersection of quantum computing, cybersecurity, secure systems, and trustworthy AI.

Quantum computing is poised to transform computation, communication, cryptography, and national security. At the same time, the emerging quantum era introduces urgent cybersecurity challenges, including the need for post-quantum cryptographic systems, secure quantum protocols, resilient cyber infrastructure, and new methods for protecting quantum-enabled technologies. This position will help IST build research capacity and national leadership in secure and trustworthy systems for the quantum era.

The successful candidate will conduct interdisciplinary research on topics including:

• Security of quantum algorithms, quantum software, and quantum networks

• Quantum-safe cybersecurity for critical infrastructure

• AI-enabled cyber defense in quantum and post-quantum contexts

• Trustworthy, resilient, and policy-aware security systems for emerging quantum technologies

The postdoctoral scholar will be based in the IST and will have opportunities to collaborate across Penn State, including with the Penn State Quantum Hub (https://quantum.psu.edu/), Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (https://icds.psu.edu/), and National Security Institute (https://nsi.psu.edu/). The position is