Autonomous Underwater Robotics & Embedded LLMs – Research Grant

Inesc Tec; Portugal; On-site; EUR 14,000 - 17,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Job summary

INESC TEC in Porto, Portugal, seeks First Stage Researcher to investigate local LLMs for autonomous underwater vehicles. The role focuses on integrating perception, localization, planning and control, with emphasis on embedded execution and distributed coordination.

Applicants should have Master’s in Electrical/Computer Engineering, and experience in perception, computer vision, ML and ROS/ROS 2. The grant lasts about 11 months with a possible renewal and includes a health insurance benefit.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering are required.
• Preference for knowledge or experience in sonar data and image processing, deep learning and ML, LLMs and generative AI, localization/SLAM, sensor fusion, planning and control algorithms, embedded systems and edge computing, multi-agent systems and swarm robotics, and underwater robotics.
• Programming experience in Python, C/C++, and ROS/ROS 2; autonomy, problem-solving and teamwork are valued.

Responsibilities

• Investigate the use of local LLMs to enhance autonomy of underwater vehicles.
• Integrate mission-specific knowledge with perception, localization, planning, decision-making, and control.
• Develop solutions for both individual operation and cooperative swarms of underwater vehicles.
• Study state of the art in autonomous robotics, computer vision, deep learning, embedded LLMs, and multi-agent systems.
• Define an architecture that integrates perception, localization, planning, decision-making, and control.
• Develop methods for processing camera and sonar data; adapt LLMs on embedded systems with limited resources.
• Explore distributed perception, information sharing, task coordination, and decentralized decision-making.
• Validate methods through simulations, laboratory environments, testing tanks and real platforms.
• Receive advanced training in AI, embedded systems, control, underwater robotics and multi-agent systems.

Skills

Python

C/C++

ROS/ROS 2

Autonomy

Teamwork

Deep learning

LLMs

Localization

SLAM

Sensor fusion

AUVs/ROVs

Underwater robotics

Embedded systems

Edge computing

Multi-agent systems

swarm robotics

Education

Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Tools

ROS/ROS 2

Job description

INESC TEC in Porto, Portugal, seeks First Stage Researcher to investigate local LLMs for autonomous underwater vehicles. The role focuses on integrating perception, localization, planning and control, with emphasis on embedded execution and distributed coordination.

Applicants should have Master’s in Electrical/Computer Engineering, and experience in perception, computer vision, ML and ROS/ROS 2. The grant lasts about 11 months with a possible renewal and includes a health insurance benefit.