Post-Doctoral and Equivalent Jobs
(Note: includes Assistant and Associate professor in the US)

Teleoperation and Haptics for Medical Micro-robotics, Montpellier, France

LIRMM's medical robotics group is now recruiting a Research Engineer to work on teleoperation control, haptics and micro-scale medical robotics in the framework of a European project on robot assisted endoluminal surgery.

Candidates are expected to have experience in one or more of the following areas: control theory, robotics, haptics, teleoperation; also good programming skills in C/C++. The salary will be around 2,300 Euros/m. The position is available now. Candidates with a doctorate will be appreciated. Application or inquiry should be sent by email to philippe.poignet AT lirmm.fr.

Embodied Active Sonar Perception, Odense, Denmark

The Maersk Institute at SDU invites applications for a post-doctoral research position working on active sonar perception inspired by bats as part of the ChiRoPing project. Closing date for applications is 15 May.

The principal objective of the project is to discover how to engineer embodied active sonar perception systems which can serve as a complement to vision and facilitate the deployment of robotic systems in situations where vision is infeasible.

Applicants should have Ph. D. level expertise in one of the areas of acoustics, robotics or signal processing. Extensive expertise in programming and good mathematics, signal analysis and/or pattern recognition skills are necessary.

To apply, please follow the procedure specified.

Cooperative Human-Robot Interaction, Lyon, France

The NCRM Robot Cognition Laboratory in Lyon is seeking a cognitive systems engineer to work on the Cooperative Human Robot Interaction Systems (CHRIS) project, which will investigate the developmental foundations of human cooperation, and implement these in humanoid robots for safe human robot cooperation.

The successful candidate will interact with the different member teams, and will also participate in the construction of the iCub in Genoa. The candidate will perform research in human-robot cooperative interaction, based on vision, speech and physical interaction, with access to multiple humanoid platforms including the iCub in Lyon, the HRP2 in Toulouse and the BET1 in Bristol.

The candidate must be proficient in programming and/or robotics, with the ability to develop software for robotics applications, and the ability to help to oversee the integration of capabilities across the project. Lab research details.

Qualified applicants should send their CV, a 2-page summary of relevant prior research and motivation, and 3 academic references to Peter Ford Dominey, Peter.Ford.Dominey AT univ-lyon2.fr as soon as possible. The position is open immediately for 1-4 years and will be filled as soon as an appropriate applicant is identified. The latest starting date is August 2008.

Human-machine interaction, Bielefeld, Germany

The Research Institute for Cognition and Robotics (CoR-Lab) investigates intelligent systems and human-machine interaction. It forms a strategic partnership between Bielefeld University and the Honda Research Institute Europe. CoR-Lab's Graduate School offers 2 scholarships for postdocs. Fluency in English is required.

Applications should be sent by 13 May (preferably in PDF format) to: chaumann AT cor-lab.uni-bielefeld.de A complete application should include certificates and transcripts of records of the completed course of studies, a CV, a cover letter providing information about the qualification and the motivation to do research in the Graduate School, as well as a short description of the research interests with regard to one of the following two projects:

1. Implicit semantic transmission in social learning: Analysis and modeling to investigate the behaviour of tutors and students and study the achieved learning effects in different situations of social learning. We aim to develop a generative model of verbal and non-verbal patterns, which will allow setting up a virtual tutor. Insights from the modelling will provide valuable feedback on the design of the psychophysical experiments.

The results of this research should enable the setup of a social interaction simulation environment, where reproducible experiments between tutor avatars and a robotic artefact could be performed. These experiments will allow testing new hypotheses on how social learning takes place.

2. Autonomous Exploration of Manual Interaction Space to use humanoid robot hands to investigate different strategies for active exploration in realistic settings, focussing on visually supervised object-in-hand manipulation.

This project crucially involves the need to combine visual information with proprioceptive feedback when the fingers explore the faces and edges of the object. A major goal of the project would be to implement a "vertical slice" of explorative skills, ranging from low level finger control and visual perception within an object category, chunking a limited set of action primitives, and planning short action sequences.

Research experience in one or more of the areas visual perception, robotics control, reinforcement learning, active learning, and neural networks is appreciated. More information

Surgical Robotics, Hong Kong

The Chinese University of Hong Kong is looking for a highly motivated and qualified Post-Doc Fellow in the area of Surgical Robotics to start immediately. A candidate with robotic structural design experience is highly preferred.

The initial offer will be for one-year to start as soon as possible, renewable for up to three years. For more information and application, please send a copy of the most recent CV, a list of three referees, a statement of experience in surgical robotics, and selected publication samples to Professor Max Q.-H. Meng max AT ee.cuhk.edu.hk

Biomedical Engineering, Hong Kong

The Department of Electronic Engineering at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is now seeking a motivated candidate to fill a Research Assistant Professorship position. Applicant should have a Ph.D. degree preferably in the area of biomedical engineering, with research interests preferably in the areas of wearable medical devices and biosensors, biological signal processing and modeling, telemedicine and mobile health, medical robotics, active medical devices and bio-MEMS, medical imaging and Terahertz imaging, biophotonics, neural engineering, and other closely related biomedical engineering areas. The appointee is expected to develop research excellence in his/her area of expertise and assist in teaching and administrative duties. Appointment will normally be made on contract basis for up to two years initially commencing August 2008, leading to longer-term appointment or substantiation later subject to mutual agreement. Applications will be accepted until the post is filled.

Interested applicants shall send a cover letter with updated CV, a list of referees, and selected publication samples via email to Professor King N. Ngan knngan AT ee.cuhk.edu.hk

Robotics and Media, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates

Founded in September 2007, the Interactive Robots & Media Laboratory (IRML) in Al Ain is seeking to expand its staffing at all levels. Core research areas include (but are not limited to): conversational humanoid robotics, language grounding, as well as human-robot interaction. There is also close contact with numerous world-class institutions and companies in the field across three continents.

The lab is equipped with multiple robots (mobile tour guide robots, manipulator arms, mini vehicles), state-of-the-art full-body motion capture, cybergloves and wireless 6DOF sensors, as well as advanced vision systems. Furthermore, IRML has continuous access to color 3D printing and 3D scanning, as well as to a machine shop, and microcontroller / electronics labs, for prototyping novel interactive devices. In terms of computational resources, a high-performance grid computer with 1T Flop will soon be available for use. Finally, a world-class humanoid conversational robot project "IbnSina" is under development.

Relevant background in CS, EE, or Interactive Media to an appropriate level is essential. Required practical skills include coding experience/expertise (C++ / Matlab / Java) and real world troubleshooting skills. Experience in one of our core research areas, an interest in cognitive science and/or philosophy and good team skills are advantageous. Most important is the desire, imagination, systematicity and persistance to create the interactive robots and media of the future.

Most positions include free housing and zero tax. For further information contact Nikolaos Mavridis NikolaosM AT uaeu.ac.ae

Machine Learning, Manno-Lugano, Switzerland

IDSIA are seeking an outstanding researcher with experience / interest in topics such as recurrent neural networks (RNN), program learning, sequence learning algorithms, statistical / Bayesian approaches, HMM, evolution (in particular, RNN evolution), support vector machines (especially recurrent ones), reinforcement learning, adaptive robotics, curiosity- driven learning, algorithmic information theory.

Goal: to advance the state of the art in machine learning, and to solve challenging sequence learning tasks in speech, vision, etc.

Start: as soon as possible. The job is initially for one year, with an expected extension for another two years. More details.

Hand prosthesis design for amputees, Enschede, the Netherlands

The University of Twente is offering a PostDoc position in the research project ArtHand. The project goal is to make a pre-study of the possibility to a hand prosthesis which will be interfaced to the neural system of an amputee. This position is concerned with the design of the prosthesis and a parallel position will study the neural interfacing with a human being.

The first year will be spent investigating, designing and evaluating possible design concepts for the prosthesis looking at possible novel actuation concepts, materials and sensorial capabilities. A proposal for further research will then be produced, upon which any contract extension depends.

A Ph.D. in Electrical, Mechanical or Biomedical Engineering; and expertise in systems and control engineering, robotics and design are required. Applications should be sent to Carla Gouw c.a.e.gouw-banse AT utwente.nl and should include: an application Letter including a clear reference to the project ArtHand; and a CV including relevant education, work experiences, publications and references.

Robotics Engineer, Zaventem, Belgium

Space Applications Services is recruiting a Robotics Engineer with a practical experience in design and development of robotic applications. The selected candidate will integrate a small team of engineers in the Systems & Ground Segment group working on R&D projects where robotic applications are developed to assist or replace the work of humans in terrestrial and space or hostile environments (assembly, maintenance or rescue missions on Earth, in orbit or in planetary surface operations missions). The work may cover the aspects of mobile and humanoid robot, haptics and exoskeleton, perception and navigation, robotic arm and robot M&C station.

The candidate shall have a university degree (Master Engineer or PhD) preferably in the disciplines of electro-mechanical engineering or computer science with specialisation in robotics or automation, and shall have practical experience in robotic system design, implementation and experimentation. The following is required:

• Practical experience with robot hardware and in particular with setup, data acquisition and processing of sensors (encoders, IMU, GPS, cameras, ultrasonic sensors, lasers)
• Experience with analysis and design techniques supporting the development life-cycle
• Very good experience in C and object-oriented programming (C++ and/or Java)

It is also desirable for an applicant to have experience in robot vision, SLAM techniques, of using Linux open source software and associated development tools; knowledge of wired and wireless network communication protocols; experience in system modeling and simulation with Matlab/Simulink; practical experience in robot control theory (PID and optimal, adaptive, non-linear control); working knowledge of real time OS such as VxWork, QNX, linux-RT, RTlinux, RTAI, etc.; knowledge and use of microcontrollers, FPGA programming (e.g. VHDL), DSP programming; previous experience in European Commission projects and/or aerospace projects (esp. in ESA projects). More information.

Computer Science and Applied Mathematics Faculty, Saudi Arabi

The King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is being established in Saudi Arabia as an international graduate-level research university dedicated to inspiring a new age of scientific achievement that will benefit the region and the world. As an independent and merit-based institution and one of the best endowed universities in the world, KAUST intends to become a major new contributor to the global network of collaborative research.

KAUST invites applications for faculty position at all ranks (Assistant, Associate, Full) in any area of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, including robotics. KAUST is also interested in applicants doing research at the interface of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics with other science and engineering disciplines. High priority will be given to the overall originality and promise of the candidate's work rather than the candidate's sub-area of specialization within Applied Mathematics and Computer Science.

KAUST is located on the Red Sea at Thuwal (80km north of Jeddah). KAUST will offer very attractive base salaries and a wide range of benefits. More information.

Applications and letters should be sent via electronic mail to Stanford University kaust-search AT stanford.edu, where a suitable committee will select the top applicants and nominate them. The review of applications will begin immediately, and applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications as soon as possible; however, applications will continue to be accepted until December 2009, or all 10 available positions have been filled. Faculty members recruited early will be hosted at Stanford University as Visiting Fellows until KAUST opens in September 2009.

Autonomous vehicles and personal robots, Stanford, CA, USA

Willow Garage is a new exciting and cutting edge organization dedicated to developing autonomous devices that will help people become more productive, keep them safer and increase their capabilities. Our current research and development efforts focus on three areas - autonomous vehicles, a solar-powered autonomous ocean-going boat and a personal robot. Three drive-by-wire SUVs with integrated sensing serve as a platform for our autonomous vehicles research. We are completing a solar-powered boat and are working on software to make it sail autonomously around the world. Our extensive personal robotics program is based on a unique design that minimizes risk to humans and we aim to collaborate with academic and industry leaders in developing the next-generation personal and service robots.

At Willow Garage, we aim to drive open-source hardware and software for Robotics. We encourage publication of top-level research in conferences and peer-reviewed journals. We support longer-term research while striving to achieve shorter-term goals. We encourage active collaboration with academia and industry. Our vision is to incubate and spin-off robotics and related companies based on the research performed at Willow Garage.

A PhD in CS/ME/EE/ECE/Aero/Astro or related areas is required for a research post.

More details.