Job Purpose
As a Research Scientist within the BFS Intelligence Division, you will be at the epicenter of India's transition to Quantum-Safe and Privacy-Preserving Finance. You will not merely study AI and Cybersecurity — you will build the defensive and offensive architectures that protect the nation's financial backbone.
Reporting to the Head of Research, you will bridge the gap between pure academic theory (IIT Labs) and enterprise-grade deployment. Your mission is to solve the "Trust Deficit" in AI through rigorous scientific inquiry and rapid prototyping, working across AI for Security, Security for AI, Cyber Security and Resilience for BFSI, and use cases spanning Consumer, Retail, Digital Platforms, Customer Experience, and Enterprise Process Excellence.
Duties and Responsibilities
Minimum Required Accountabilities for this Role
1. Security FOR AI & AI FOR Security Mandate
? Adversarial AI & Robustness: Develop frameworks to detect and mitigate Prompt Injection, Model Inversion, and Data Poisoning in LLMs.
? Deepfake Forensics: Engineer real-time detection algorithms for synthetic audio/video to secure Video-KYC and voice-based banking authentication.
? Privacy-Preserving Computation: Architect production-ready Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) and Secure Multi-Party Computation (SMPC) pipelines for collaborative fraud detection without data exposure.
2. Quantum-Safe Transition (Post-Quantum Cryptography)
? Cryptographic Agility: Research and implement NIST-standardized Post-Quantum algorithms (e.g., CRYSTALS-Kyber/Dilithium) into existing BFSI legacy stacks.
? Quantum Key Distribution (QKD): Collaborate with hardware teams to integrate quantum-secure layers into high-value transaction settlement systems.
3. IIT-Industry Symbiosis (Lab-to-Market Pipeline)
? Work closely with IIT researchers and faculty on joint projects. Act as the 'Translational Principal,' converting abstract mathematical proofs into functional Proofs of Concept (PoCs).
? Intellectual Property Engine: Lead the filing of defensive patents that establish the firm's dominance in the Indian Deep-Tech Security landscape.
? Mentorship: Guide B.Tech/M.Tech interns from partner IITs, fostering a pipeline of elite talent for the Research Clusters.
? Participate in academic publications,



conferences, and patent filings.

Additional Accountabilities Pertaining to this Role
? Collaborate with Consumer, Retail, Digital Platforms, Customer Experience, and Enterprise Process Excellence teams to identify and deliver AI-security use cases.
? Provide deep-tech advisory support to the $50M Deep-Tech Portfolio companies as a Technical Advisor.
? Represent Bajaj Finance at top-tier academic and industry forums (NeurIPS, IEEE S&P;, USENIX, CVPR).
Key Decisions / Dimensions
Independent Decisions
? Selection of research methodologies, algorithms, and frameworks for AI security and cryptographic agility projects.
? Prioritization of patent filings and identification of defensive IP opportunities.
? Identification of B.Tech/M.Tech intern candidates and project assignments.
Decisions Requiring Approval
? Productionization of PoCs and transition of research output into enterprise deployments.
? Budget and resource allocation for research projects.
? External collaborations, publications, and conference representations.|Financial Dimensions
? Business Volume: Indirect impact across the BFSI digital infrastructure secured by AI and cryptographic research outputs.
? Venture Exposure: Direct visibility into the $50M Deep-Tech Portfolio; opportunities to serve as Technical Advisor to portfolio startups.
? Commercialization: Incentive/Bonus structures for solutions that are productionized at scale and for patents that transition into licensed products.

Other Dimensions
? Work Model: Dual-Core — time split between the Corporate War Room and IIT Research Labs.
? Travel: 30–40% expected to maintain high-bandwidth collaboration with IIT academic partners (primarily IIT Mumbai).
? Deep-Tech Sabbaticals: Policy-driven opportunities to spend 1–2 months as a Resident Researcher at global partner labs.
? Number of Direct Reports:



As per research cluster expansion.
? Number of Locations: Multiple (Corporate HQ + IIT campuses across India).
Major Challenges
? Bridging the gap between pure academic theory (IIT Labs) and enterprise-grade deployment in a high-stakes BFSI setting.
? Solving the 'Trust Deficit' in AI — ensuring reliability, fairness, and security of AI systems at scale across India's financial infrastructure.
? Migrating legacy BFSI cryptographic stacks to NIST-standardized Post-Quantum algorithms without disrupting live operations.
? Developing real-time deepfake detection capable of operating at Video-KYC and voice-banking throughput with low false-positive rates.
? Implementing privacy-preserving computation (FHE/SMPC) in production pipelines where performance and latency constraints are demanding.
? Translating abstract mathematical research into deployable PoCs within enterprise timelines and compliance frameworks.
Required Qualifications and Experience
Educational Qualifications
? PhD or Post-Doctoral qualification (preferred) from a Tier-1 institution (IIT, IISc, ISI).
? M.Tech in Computer Science, Mathematics, or Quantum Information from a Tier-1 institution also considered.

Work Experience & Core Competencies
? Programming Mastery: Professional-grade proficiency in Python, C++, or Rust.
? Deep Learning Frameworks: Hands-on experience with PyTorch and/or TensorFlow for AI security applications.
? Cryptographic Libraries: Working knowledge of OpenSSL, SEAL, and/or Lattigo for implementing encryption pipelines.
? Applied Research Portfolio: Published research in top-tier venues (NeurIPS, CVPR, IEEE S&P;, USENIX) OR high-impact contributions to security-focused open source projects.
? Domain Context: Deep understanding of India Stack (UPI, Account Aggregator, ABDM) and cybersecurity vulnerabilities of large-scale digital infrastructure.
? Demonstrated ability to translate abstract mathematical proofs into functional, enterprise-grade Proofs of Concept.
? Strong communication skills for academic publications, conference presentations, and cross-functional collaboration.
? Experience in mentoring B.Tech/M.Tech students and managing research interns is an added advantage.

📌 National Lead - Finserv Intelligence (Megapolis)
🏢 Bajaj Finance
📍 Megapolis