Postdoctoral Fellow - Surgical Automation

General Description

Salary: $63,500 - $75,000 per year

Dr. Mathias Unberath and Dr. Axel Krieger are seeking highly motivated postdoctoral scholars to join their joint research work at Johns Hopkins University in 2026. This collaborative position offers the opportunity to work directly with both the ARCADE Lab (led by Dr. Unberath) and the IMERSE Lab (led by Dr. Krieger), alongside their respective lab members.

The joint research focuses on advancing automation in surgery by developing intelligent systems capable of performing complex surgical tasks and procedures. This work is primarily conducted at the Homewood Campus in Baltimore. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in Robotics and Computer Science, with specific interest or expertise in robot policy, imitation learning, and vision‑language models (VLMs).

Applicants with strong credentials and motivation should still apply even if they lack these specific qualifications. These are full‑time positions with an initial appointment duration of 12 months, and the possibility of further extension based on performance and funding.

• PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong publication record in peer‑reviewed venues (e.g., CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, ICRA, IROS, CoRL, MICCAI, IPCAI, Science Robotics, or Nature) relevant to robotics or AI.
• Demonstrated experience with robotic platforms (e.g., dVRK, KUKA, or custom robotic arms) and ROS/ROS
  2.
• Proven track record of automating physical tasks involving flexible materials or biological tissues.
• High proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks (e.g., PyTorch).
• Excellent teamwork skills for working in an interdisciplinary environment involving engineers, computer scientists, and clinicians.
• Technical expertise in Robot Policy and Imitation Learning.
• Proficiency in designing and implementing computational models for robotic control.
• Strong understanding of VLMs and Computer Vision techniques.
• Ability to work effectively in a highly collaborative, multi‑lab environment.
• Experience with surgical data science or medical robotics is a significant advantage.
• Ability to lead research projects independently from concept to implementation.
• Capability to formulate research methodologies and manage project timelin

The Johns Hopkins University is committed to equal opportunity for its faculty, staff, and students. To that end, the university does not discriminate on the basis of sex, gender, marital status, pregnancy, race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran status or other legally protected characteristic. The university is committed to providing qualified individuals access to all academic and employment programs, benefits and activities on the basis of demonstrated ability, performance and merit without regard to personal factors that are irrelevant to the program involved.