PhD researcher in Artificial Intelligence Personnel Readiness in Cyber-Threat Scenarios

Organisation/Company Tilburg University Research Field Computer science » Cybernetics Computer science » Informatics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Final date to receive applications 23 Mar 2026 - 22:59 (UTC) Country Netherlands Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Not Applicable Hours Per Week 40.0 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure?

No

The Department of Intelligent systems at Tilburg University together with the Netherlands Aerospace Center (NLR) invites applications for one fully-funded PhD position in the interdisciplinary area AI, simulation, and training. This position is embedded within the NWO-funded project “NEPTARGOS:
Nautical Empowerment for Proactive Threat Analysis and Resilience with Guardian Oversight Systems” in collaboration with the Netherlands Aerospace Center, the Data Science Center of Excellence of the Netherlands Defense Academy, TNO, Delft University of Technology and other partners. The overall aim of the project NEPTARGOS is to enhance cyber risk management of the North Sea maritime infrastructure through AI-enabled, human-centered, and data-driven cyber-physical threat intelligence.

This large interdisciplinary project builds on insights from network science, (search) game theory, law, data engineering, Artificial Intelligence (AI), governance, organization sciences and serious gaming to help Dutch governmental organizations, critical maritime infrastructure operators, and cyber-physical security professionals design and implement effective defense and resilience models and measures for adversarial attacks. The project will combine existing systems and architectures to create an integrated simulation environment for security and vulnerability assessment.

The PhD project will address the question of howtraining of cyber threat awareness and resilience at various operational levels can be achieved with the help of AI-enabled instructional technologies in simulation-based training. The training will be based on realistic cyber scenarios and their potential impact on critical infrastructure. It will involve the simulation of various complex high-stakes cyber-threat scenarios to help train individuals in decision-making, strategy formulation, and teamwork.

By participating in the training, the personnel will gain practical experience in assessing situations, making critical decisions under pressure, and understanding the consequences of their actions in a safe and controlled environment. During the training sessions, the stakeholders will experiment with the use of Large Language Models for cyber-threat operations. The training will also allow stakeholders with potentially competing agendas to collaborate and communicate effectively.

Main objectives of the project are to(1) Develop AI-enabled instructional strategies, design and technologies for simulation-based decision making, including scenario generation, adaptation, and effectiveness measurement; (2) Gain insights into decision-making and teamwork in complex cyber-threat scenarios; (3) Validate the developed methods for through implementation, including physical trials; (4) Test control room capabilities during joint sessions with partners.

The PhD researcher will be enrolled in the graduate school of Tilburg School of Humanities and Digital Sciences and placed in the NLR Training & Simulation Department, in close collaboration with the Data Science Center of Excellence of Dutch Defense.

• Master’s degree in computer science, artificial intelligence, military science, or a related field. If you expect to obtain your degree before February 2026, you are also eligible.
• Knowledge of data science in general as well as practical experience with conducting data science analyses.
• Strong social and organizational skills with the ability to work effectively in an interdisciplinary research environment and collaborate with academic and non-academic partners.
• Excellent knowledge of English and good academic writing skills.
• Full professional proficiency in Dutch (C1/C2 level)