Senior Robotics Engineer / Postdoctoral Researcher 60-100 %

ZHAW; Winterthur; Presencial; CHF 110 000 - 140 000; Tempo integral

Resumo da oferta

ZHAW, the Zurich University of Applied Sciences, School of Engineering, invites applications for a Senior Robotics Engineer / Postdoctoral Researcher (60-100%). Based in the Winterthur/Zurich area, the role focuses on moving humanoid and quadruped robots from lab to industry, deploying reinforcement learning and robot foundation models with Swiss partners.

You will conduct applied R&D in the Embodied Mobile Agents group, publish results and contribute open-source code, and collaborate with

Qualificações

• PhD in robotics or CS with AI for robotics.
• Hands-on experience with real robots and prototyping.
• Competencies in robot learning and classical robotics.
• Strong programming with ROS/ROS 2, Nav2, MoveIt, PCL, OpenCV and Jetson.
• Strong research track record in AI for robotics or CV.
• Fluent in English; other languages a plus.
• Position level: research associate, 2-year appointment.

Responsabilidades

• Conduct applied R&D as senior robotics engineer/postdoctoral researcher deploying RL on real robots.
• Drive topics: agentic embodied AI, robotic foundation models, RL for mobile manipulation.
• Publish results and contribute open-source code.
• Collaborate with Swiss and EU partners; projects often funded by Innosuisse.

Conhecimentos

Reinforcement learning

Robot learning

ROS / ROS 2

MoveIt

NVIDIA Jetson

Computer vision

Teleoperation

Prototyping hardware

Publications

Python

Formação académica

PhD in robotics

PhD in CS with AI focus

Ferramentas

Nav2

PCL

OpenCV

NVIDIA Jetson

Descrição da oferta de emprego

Senior Robotics Engineer / Postdoctoral Researcher 60-100 %

We are looking for a postdoctoral researcher or senior robotics engineer. Take humanoid and quadruped robots out of the lab and into industry: with Swiss partners, you deploy reinforcement learning, robot foundation models and agentic systems in the real world.

School:

School of Engineering

Starting date:

January 2027 or by appointment.

Your role

• You conduct applied research and development as a senior robotics engineer / postdoctoral researcher in the Embodied Mobile Agents (EMA) research group, deploying reinforcement learning and VLA/WAM policies on humanoid and quadruped robots in the real world.
• You drive our current focus topics: flexible industrial automation through agentic embodied AI systems, robotic foundation models and reinforcement learning for mobile manipulation. In a new project, we will be looking into lowering the entry barrier to robot teleoperation and imitation learning for non-technical users through automated dataset curation and real-time feedback.
• You turn results into publications and open-source code contributions.
• You collaborate with companies, universities and other partners in Switzerland and the EU. Most of our projects are applied research and innovation projects with Swiss companies, mainly funded by Innosuisse.

Your profile

• You hold a PhD in robotics, or in computer science or a related field with a focus on AI for robotics.
• You are a pragmatic "maker" with a strong drive to build things that work and are appealing to use, and you have hands-on experience with real robots, including prototyping and modifying robots with off-the-shelf equipment.
• You have proven competencies in robot learning (reinforcement learning, imitation learning, robot foundation models) and in classical robotics (motion planning, perception and navigation, teleoperation).
• You are a strong programmer and work confidently with ROS / ROS 2, Nav2, MoveIt, PCL, OpenCV, the NVIDIA Jetson ecosystem and current deep learning frameworks.
• You have a strong research track record in AI for robotics or computer vision, shown by publications, and your curiosity keeps you on top of the state of the art.
• You are fluent in English; is a plus.
• We offer a position at the level of research associate, initially limited to 2 years.

This is what we stand for

Zurich University of Applied Sciences ZHAW is one of Switzerland's largest multidisciplinary universities of applied sciences, with over 14'000 students and 3'400 faculty and staff.
The School of Engineering ( ), as one of the leading educational and research institutions in Switzerland, focuses on topics relevant to the future. 14 institutes and centres guarantee high-quality education, research and development with a focus on the areas of energy, mobility, information and health.
The Centre for Artificial Intelligence ( ) maintains a growing number of research groups in four strategic focus areas: . The CAI conducts method-focused applied re-search and development at the highest level in the field of machine learning and is committed to a human-centered ap-proach to artificial intelligence, thereby actively shaping the ethical dimension.
We are looking for a witty, sharp, curious, and technically skilled personality. We value potential over formally certified skills, encouraging also unconventional CVs, e.g., transdisciplinary backgrounds or own entrepreneurial experience.
ZHAW is committed to gender-mixed and diverse teams in order to promote equality, diversity and innovation.

What you can expect

We offer working conditions and terms of employment commensurate with higher education institutions and actively promote personal development for staff in leadership and non-leadership positions. A detailed description of advantages and benefits can be found at . The main points are listed below:

Contact

Dr. Queralta
Head of the Embodied Mobile Agents Research Group

Shalaby
Recruiting Manager