Senior Research Fellow in FPGA Network Security and AI Intrusion Detection, IIT Kharagpur (DRDO Project)
Job Description
This SRF in hardware security at IIT Kharagpur builds an indigenous network packet processor on an FPGA. It will have a hardware stateful firewall for real-time intrusion detection and prevention. DRDO funds the project. Apply online by 23 October 2026.
At a glance
- Post: Senior Research Fellow (SRF), one post
- Where: Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Kharagpur
- Principal Investigator: Prof. Rajat Subhra Chakraborty
- Funded by: Directorate of Futuristic Technology Management (DFTM), DRDO, Ministry of Defence
- Fellowship: ₹42,000 a month, consolidated (depending on qualification and experience)
- Duration: One year, extendable up to four years
- Age limit: 32 years
- Apply by: 23 October 2026
The advertisement is IIT/SRIC/R/NGS/2026/112, dated 5 October 2026. The project is titled “Secure and Intelligent Indigenous Network Packet Processor on Field Programmable Gate Array with Hardware based Stateful Firewall for Real-time Intrusion Detection/Prevention”.
About the FPGA security SRF at IIT Kharagpur
- Research on a network packet processor built on an FPGA
- A stateful firewall in hardware
- AI/ML for real-time intrusion detection and prevention
- Work towards a PhD in the CSE department, as the ad expects
The ad names the project and the expertise it wants. It does not list duties; the points above follow those.
Why this role matters
Defence and critical networks want firewalls built in India, in hardware they can inspect. This SRF sits where chip design meets machine learning, a mix that few research posts offer and that industry hires for.
Eligibility
- A postgraduate degree in basic science, or a graduate or postgraduate professional degree, with selection through CSIR-UGC NET (lectureship counts) or GATE, or through a national exam run by DST, DBT, DAE, DOS, DRDO, MoE, ICAR, ICMR, IIT, IISc, IISER, NISER and similar bodies
- Two years of research experience
- Desired: a good academic record throughout, expertise in AI/ML, and willingness to do a PhD in CSE at IIT Kharagpur
- Upper age limit: 32 years
Meeting the minimum qualifications does not guarantee an interview call. The advertisement lists no application fee. The appointment is for one year to start, and can be extended up to four years in total or until the project ends, whichever is earlier, based on performance. The same project also advertises one Research Associate post for PhD holders (IIT/SRIC/R/NGS/2026/111), with the same closing date.
Pay and duration
- ₹42,000 a month, consolidated, depending on qualification and experience
- One year to start, extendable up to four years or until the project ends
How to apply
Apply online through IIT Kharagpur’s SRIC staff recruitment portal, using the Apply Online button on the official advertisement. The advertisement lists no application fee. Apply before 23 October 2026 and watch your email for the interview details. Other current SRIC project openings are on the SRIC recruitment page.
Key dates
- Advertisement dated: 5 October 2026
- Last date to apply: 23 October 2026
Please read the official IIT Kharagpur advertisement before applying, and browse more Senior Research Fellow jobs on ResearchJobs.in.
Hiring institution: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Official advertisement: erp.iitkgp.ac.in
How to prepare for this application
- Know packet processing on FPGAs: parsers, match-action tables, line-rate pipelines and on-chip memory limits.
- Explain stateful firewalls: connection tracking, TCP state, and why doing it in hardware is hard.
- Bring an ML-for-security example: an intrusion detection model on CIC-IDS or UNSW-NB15, with its false-positive rate.
- Show HDL work: Verilog, VHDL or HLS on a real board, with timing and resource numbers.
- Be ready for the PhD question: the ad wants willingness to do a PhD here. Use our Find a supervisor page to look at the CSE faculty.
About IIT Kharagpur and SRIC
IIT Kharagpur, founded in 1951, was the first of the Indian Institutes of Technology. Its Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC) unit manages externally funded research projects and recruits the temporary staff, such as JRFs, SRFs and project associates, who work on them. These posts last for the tenure in the advertisement, or until the project ends.
