Role Summary
The Idiap Research Institute is seeking a qualified candidate for a Postdoctoral position on trustworthy and privacy‑preserving technologies for identity systems.
The Biometrics Security and Privacy group develops trustworthy technologies for personal identity. Our research spans a broad range of biometric modalities – face, voice, fingerprint, finger‑vein, gait, and others – together with the security of biometric systems, including presentation attack detection, deepfake detection, morphing attack detection, and privacy preservation. The group currently runs several projects funded through industrial collaborations and Swiss and European research grants. Among these, the group participates in the EU‑funded project CERTAIN, which develops technologies and processes to help manufacturers of AI products demonstrate compliance with EU regulations, notably the EU AI Act.
Responsibilities
We are looking for a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the CERTAIN project, with a principal focus on privacy‑preserving technologies for biometric data protection. Within this scope, we are particularly interested in a rigorous, practically grounded exploration of homomorphic encryption (HE).
Key duties include:
* Carry out research as stated in the assigned project(s) and follow the evolution of project(s)
* Fulfil project‑related assignments (evaluations, deliverables, …) as requested
* Publish results (in journal papers and conferences; favour joint publications with other Idiap staff and/or project partners)
* If required, participate in project meetings and boards
* When appropriate, assume leading role as Idiap contact point or work package leader
* Help supervise PhD students and interns in collaboration with supervisors
* Participate in various Idiap activities and projects as requested by supervisor(s) or Idiap management
The research focuses on:
* Trade‑offs across different HE algorithms
* Concrete challenges and pitfalls of applying HE to biometric data
* Evaluation methodologies for assessing the security and privacy properties of HE schemes
* Advances towards post‑quantum HE
* How HE‑based biometric data protection contributes to meeting the requirements of relevant privacy regulations, such as the GDPR and the EU AI Act.
Qualifications
Candidate must have:
* PhD in a relevant field such as cryptography, computer science, applied mathematics, or a closely related discipline (e.g., engineering, biometrics, computer vision, machine learning)
* Deep understanding of homomorphic encryption (HE) algorithms, with hands‑on experience implementing and evaluating HE schemes in code
* Strong background in mathematics relevant to cryptography as well as statistics, optimisation and linear algebra
* Strong programming skills, particularly in Python, and comfort working in a Linux environment
* Excellent research experience, a strong publication record, and the ability to conduct creative and significant research with a good level of autonomy
* Excellent written and verbal communication in English, including the ability to explain technical findings to non‑experts
Preferred
* Prior experience in the field of biometrics
* Familiarity with deep learning (DCNNs, Transformers, GANs, Diffusion Models, Foundation and Large Multimodal Models) and frameworks such as PyTorch
* Additional programming experience (e.g., C/C++)
* Contributions to open‑source projects or publicly available research code
Languages
Fluency in English. French is a plus.
Application Information
Approximate start date: As soon as possible or no later than the end of 2026.
Application deadline: Screening of applications will start from July 1st 2026.
Equal Opportunity
At Idiap, we believe that diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong.
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