Postdoctoral position in Perception for Autonomous Manipulation for Mobile Robot

Postdoctoral position in Perception for Autonomous Manipulation for Mobile Robot   Italy
Commitment & contract:
Fixed-term contract with renewal option

Location:

IIT - Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Via S. Quirico 19d, 16163 Genova, Italy
Starting period:
To be agreed, according to project and candidate availability
Step into a world of endless possibilities, together let’s leave something for the future!
At IIT, we are committed to advancing human-centered Science and Technology to address the most urgent societal challenges of our era. We foster excellence in both fundamental and applied research, spanning fields such as neuroscience and cognition, humanoid technologies and robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and material sciences, offering a truly interdisciplinary scientific experience. Our approach integrates cutting-edge tools and technology, empowering researchers to push the limits of knowledge and innovation.

With us, your curiosity will know no bounds. We are dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities and fostering diversity in all its forms, creating an inclusive environment. We value the unique experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives of our people. By embracing diversity, we believe science can achieve its fullest potential.

THE ROLE  The Humanoids & Human Centred Mechatronics Research Unit is seeking an exceptional and highly motivated postdoctoral researcher to develop advanced perception and autonomous manipulation methods for mobile robotic systems operating in complex, dynamic environments
The successful candidate will contribute to the development of perception-to-action capabilities that enable robots to understand their surroundings, localize objects, reason about scene geometry and semantics, and perform autonomous manipulation and navigation tasks. The work will focus on bridging robust perception, 3D scene understanding, object and environment representation, for enabling autonomous manipulation for real robotic platforms.
You will join a multicultural and multidisciplinary research team with strong expertise in robot design, modelling, control, whole-body loco-manipulation, balancing, physical interaction, teleoperation, and autonomous robotic systems. The Research Line is coordinated by Nikos Tsagarakis, whose work spans robotics, mechatronics, and control for advanced legged and mobile platforms.
This position offers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge robotic systems, including mobile and legged robots, equipped with single and dual arm manipulation systems. The candidate will be encouraged to publish high-impact research, contribute to international collaborations, and develop solutions that can be validated on real robotic hardware.
Access to state-of-the-art robotic platforms and experimental facilities.
A highly interdisciplinary and international research environment.
Opportunities to publish in leading robotics venues.
Collaboration with experts in mechatronics, control, perception, AI, and robot design.
The possibility to contribute to European and international research projects.
A stimulating environment focused on both scientific excellence and real-world robotic impact.
Main responsibilities   Development of robust perception pipelines for mobile robots and autonomous manipulation.
Object detection, classification, pose estimation, tracking, and localization.
Perception methods for grasping, manipulation, interaction, and task execution.
Sensor fusion using RGB-D cameras, LiDAR, inertial sensors, and other perception modalities.
Localization, mapping, and situational awareness in dynamic environments.
Integration of perception modules with whole-body manipulation control systems.
Validation of algorithms in simulation and on physical robotic platforms.
Contribution to publications, project deliverables, software documentation, and experimental reports.
ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENT   PhD in Robotics, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, Software Engineering, Computer Science, Mechatronics, or related disciplines.
Strong background in robot perception and autonomous robotic systems.
Experience in object detection, semantic segmentation, object pose estimation, feature extraction.

Experience with perception for robotic manipulation, grasping and object localization
Experience in machine learning or deep learning methods applied to perception and manipulation skill learning.
Practical experience with perception sensors such as RGB-D cameras, stereo cameras, LiDAR, IMUs, radar, GPS, or related calibration methods.
Strong software development skills in C++, Python, Linux, and ROS/ROS
2.

Experience with simulation-to-real transfer using tools such as Gazebo, Isaac Sim, Mu Jo Co  or similar environments.
Experience designing, implementing, testing, and integrating robust perception and manipulation algorithms on real robotic systems.
Familiarity with frameworks such as PyTorch, Tensor Flow, PCL, CUDA, or related GPU-accelerated tools.
Strong…