Postdoctoral positions: Intelligent Robotics / House of AI

Up to three postdoctoral positions are available in the Intelligent Robotics group at Aalto University, Finland, working on robotics and physical AI in direct collaboration with leading industrial partners. The group develops intelligent robotic systems, with an emphasis on methods and systems that cope with imperfect knowledge and uncertain sensing.

The positions are linked to the AI in Manufacturing and Machine Industry theme of the Aalto House of AI, led by Professor Ville Kyrki. The theme brings together robotics, machine learning, and electrical and mechanical engineering to work on autonomous operation of machines, advanced control, and new data-driven services.

Our industrial partners are global market leaders in their product categories, with installed fleets operating worldwide. The collaboration gives access to production machines and field data, problems defined jointly with their engineers, and pilots run on partner sites.

The group also sits inside a dense AI research environment. Aalto coordinates the Finnish Center for AI (FCAI) where Professor Kyrki leads the Autonomous AI program. The group is also part of ELLIS Institute Finland, the second institute of the pan-European ELLIS network, based on the Aalto campus. Postdocs in the group take part in the seminars and the Europe-wide network the institute brings, alongside compute on LUMI, EuroHPC’s flagship supercomputer.

Topics

We are looking for candidates in the following two areas. Funding is in place for all three positions.
 

1. Robot learning for manipulation: imitation and reinforcement learning of contact-rich, deformable object, and multi-object manipulation, and data-efficient adaptation to new tasks and embodiments.

2. Fault prediction and reliable autonomy: data-driven condition monitoring, prognostics, and anomaly detection for machines and fleets, learning from sparse failure data, handling distribution shift across machines and operating conditions, and combining physical models with learned components.

Two of the positions are attached to industrial collaboration projects: one on learning to manipulate multiple objects simultaneously, and one on fault prediction. The third position is open to a strong candidate who wants to work closely with industry.

What we offer

The positions are for 2 years, with the possibility of extension, starting by agreement. You will have access to robot platforms including several Franka Emika Panda arms, a Boston Dynamics Spot, a Unitree Go2, a Hello Robot Stretch, and Alex, the Aalto autonomous car, as well as compute through Aalto and LUMI, funding for conference travel, and the option to co-advise doctoral students. Salary follows the Aalto salary system, with Finnish social security, occupational health care, and 5 weeks of annual leave. The group is international and works in English; no Finnish is required.

Recent graduates and postdocs from the group have gone on to assistant professor positions at DTU, Tampere University, the University of Turku, New York University Abu Dhabi, and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam.

Requirements

A PhD in robotics, machine learning, computer vision, control, or a related field (candidates close to completion are considered), a publication record in venues such as ICRA, IROS, RSS, CoRL, RA-L, T-RO, NeurIPS, or ICLR, and strong software skills. Experience with physical robots and an interest in working with industrial partners on real problems are advantages.

How to apply

All three positions are filled through a single call. Apply through our recruitment site using the "Apply now!" link by September 6, 2026. Include a CV with publication list, a cover letter stating your topics of interest, links to code, videos, or demos, and contact details of two referees. We aim to hold interviews within four weeks of the deadline and to make offers within six.

Informal enquiries: Prof. Ville Kyrki, ville.kyrki@aalto.fi. Use “Post-doc position 2026” as email topic. For questions related to the application process, please contact HR advisor Johanna Haapalainen, johanna.haapalainen@aalto.fi.

Intelligent Robotics group: https://irobotics.aalto.fi

Working at Aalto: https://www.aalto.fi/en/careers-at-aalto/working-at-aalto

Working in Finland: https://www.aalto.fi/en/careers-at-aalto/working-in-finland

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