Postdoctoral Position (M/F): Robust Swarm Guidance & Navigation for Collaborative Drone Systems

CNRS; France; Sur place; EUR 40 000 - 55 000; Plein temps

Résumé du poste

A leading research institution in France seeks a Postdoctoral Researcher to join the PercepDrone project, focusing on developing robust guidance and navigation frameworks for drone swarms. The candidate will lead research, supervise PhD students, and engage in interdisciplinary projects. Ideal applicants will have a PhD in Robotics or a related field and strong expertise in swarm guidance. Excellent communication skills and the ability to work in interdisciplinary teams are essential.

Qualifications

• Strong expertise in swarm guidance, ideally with vector‑based or geometry‑inspired methods.
• Demonstrated experience with multi‑agent or swarm robotic systems.
• Ability to supervise and guide PhD students.

Responsabilités

• Lead research on swarm guidance and navigation.
• Supervise and mentor PhD students.
• Present and publish results in scientific conferences and journals.

Connaissances

Swarm guidance

Multi-agent systems

Strong communication skills

Research publication

Proficiency in English

Formation

PhD in Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or related field

Outils

Python

Description du poste

Organisation/Company CNRS Department Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse Research Field Engineering Computer science Mathematics Researcher Profile First Stage Researcher (R1) Country France Application Deadline 7 Jan 2026 - 23:59 (UTC) Type of Contract Temporary Job Status Full-time Hours Per Week 35 Offer Starting Date 2 Mar 2026 Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Postdoctoral Position: Robust Swarm Guidance & Navigation for Collaborative Drone Systems
CNRS is seeking an outstanding Postdoctoral Researcher to join the ambitious PercepDrone project, dedicated to developing perception‑aware, robust guidance and navigation frameworks for drone swarms operating in challenging environments.
This position offers a unique opportunity for an experienced researcher to shape next‑generation swarm autonomy while collaborating across two complementary research projects.

Project Context: PercepDrone

PercepDrone aims to build an advanced AI framework enabling collaborative perception and robust navigation for drone swarms. Using visual–LiDAR multimodal fusion, geometric learning, and neural ODE–based models, the project develops mechanisms for:

• Obstacle recognition and depth estimation in adverse conditions (fog, snow, low illumination, etc.)
• Collaborative inference across drones using temporal and spatial correlations
• Perception‑aware swarm guidance and navigation
• Integration and empirical validation through drone‑based experiments

You will work in close collaboration with an existing PhD student and postdoctoral researcher specializing in swarm guidance.

As the new Postdoctoral Researcher, you will:

• Lead research on swarm guidance and navigation, familiarity with vector based guidance methods is a plus.
• Supervise and mentor PhD students working on guidance, navigation, and multi‑agent coordination.
• Contribute to the integration of perception‑aware guidance algorithms into real‑world drone platforms.
• Assist in experimental validation of perception‑aware guidance algorithms.
• Present and publish results in scientific conferences and journals.

Cross‑Project Bridging Responsibilities

Although the recruitment is for PercepDrone, the postdoc will also serve as a scientific connector with its companion project AMANIA:

• Facilitate knowledge transfer between drone‑swarm perception/navigation research and human‑centred swarm‑control research.
• Contribute swarm‑guidance expertise to experiments involving human–swarm interaction (e.g., VR‑based supervision or operator‑in‑the‑loop scenarios).
• Engage with interdisciplinary teams, including experts in cognitive science and HCI (no deep expertise required but interest appreciated).
• Support both postdocs (PercepDrone & Amania) as needed to ensure coherence of guidance strategies, testing protocols, and operational concepts.

The person recruited will work within the Elipse team, on the UT site of the IRIT.

We are looking for a highly motivated researcher who can operate autonomously while thriving in interdisciplinary teams. The ideal candidate has:

Required Qualifications

• PhD in Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, Control Systems, AI for Robotics, Human‑Computer Interaction or a related field.
• Strong expertise in swarm guidance, ideally with vector‑based or geometry‑inspired methods.
• Demonstrated experience with multi‑agent or swarm robotic systems.
• Ability to supervise and guide PhD students.
• Solid understanding of navigation, collision avoidance, and autonomous multi‑drone coordination.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to work across multiple teams.
• Strong research skills, with a track record of publishing in high‑quality venues.
• Proficiency in English (spoken and written).

Desired Skills (Assets)

• Experience with drone flight tests or experimental UAV campaigns.
• Interest in human–swarm interaction, VR‑assisted supervision, or human‑centred system design.
• Familiarity with Python software environments for robotics.
• Willingness to engage with two complementary research teams and act as a scientific bridge.