Research Associate, Research Scientist, Robotics

Grade UE07: £41,064- £48,822

College of Science & Engineering, School of Informatics

Full Time: 35 hours per week

Fixed Term: 24 months

The School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh invites applications for two Postdoctoral Research Associate positions in SLAM and large-scale graph optimisation.

We are pleased to announce multiple funded positions in the areas of SLAM, large-scale graph optimisation, and multi-modal robotic perception at School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, UK. These positions are part of a new research programme led by Dr Liang Zhao focusing on next‑generation estimation and optimisation techniques for large-scale graph optimisation problems and intelligent robotic perception.

This post is advertised as full‑time (35 hours per week), fixed term until 31st December 2027. The team currently operates a 100%, i.e. 5 days, on‑campus working arrangement which has been agreed by the line manager.

The salary for this post is £41,064 to £48,822 per annum.

• PhD in Robotics, Computer Science or Mathematics
• A strong background in robotics, computer vision, optimisation, or applied mathematics
• Excellent programming skills in C++ and/or Python and ROS
• Experience in delivering research results in an academic context; e.g. at top robotics conferences and journals
• Demonstrated capability to plan, prioritise, and deliver technical milestones within agreed project schedules.

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Please ensure you include the following documents in your application:

• CV
• Cover letter

• A competitive salary
• An exciting, positive, creative, challenging and rewarding place to work.
• To be part of a diverse and vibrant international community
• Comprehensive Staff Benefits, such as a generous holiday entitlement, competitive pension schemes, staff discounts, and family‑friendly initiatives. Check out the full list on our staff benefits page and use our reward calculator to discover the total value of your pay and benefits

The University of Edinburgh holds a Silver Athena SWAN award in recognition of our commitment to advance gender equality in higher education. We are members of the Race Equality Charter and we are also Stonewall Scotland Diversity Champions, actively promoting LGBT equality.

Prior to any employment commencing with the University you will be required to evidence your right to work in the UK. Further information is available on our right to work webpages.

The University may be able to sponsor the employment of international workers in this role. This will depend on a number of factors specific to the successful applicant.

The closing date for applications is 19th January 2026.

Unless stated otherwise the closing time for applications is 11:59pm GMT. If you are applying outside the UK the closing time on our adverts automatically adjusts to your browsers local time zone.

Interview dates to be confirmed.