The Robot Learning research group is seeking a talented PhD student with strong interest in Reinforcement Learning and Planning.

The Aalto Robot Learning research group operates in the intersection of artificial intelligence and robotics. We focus on developing methods for reinforcement learning, robotic manipulation, decision making under partial observability, imitation learning, and decision making in multi-agent systems. The goal of the research group is to help robots understand what they need to learn to perform their assigned tasks, and, thus, make robots capable of operating on their own and pro-actively help humans. To accomplish these goals the research group develops novel decision-making methods and uses these methods to solve unsolved robotic tasks. For more information, please see https://rl.aalto.fi.

The main task of the PhD student will be to develop new reinforcement learning or/and planning methods for optimizing neural network architectures. The exact direction of the research is chosen depending on your experience and interests. Please relate clearly to the research topic in your Letter of Motivation, in particular, what kind of research topics in reinforcement learning and planning interest you.

Outstanding researchers from the areas of Machine Learning, AI, Robotics, and related areas including Reinforcement Learning, Control Engineering, Computer Vision, Statistics & Optimization, or Mathematics & Physics are welcome to apply. The candidate is expected to conduct independent research and at the same time contribute to the topics listed above. Successful candidates will be furthermore given the opportunity to work with undergraduate and M.Sc. students.

The research group collaborates internationally and nationally with research groups in computer vision, uncertainty modeling, robotics, construction, mobile heavy machines, human-robot interaction, reinforcement learning, imitation learning, multi-agent systems, under-water vehicles, and robot motion planning. There will be ample opportunities for international collaboration.

WE OFFER
The position will be filled for 2 + 2 years (doctoral studies are expected to take 4 years in total). The starting date is in April 2024 or as mutually agreed. The salary will be based on both the job requirements and the employee’s personal performance in accordance with the salary system of Finnish universities. The starting salary for a doctoral student is approximately 2700 EUR/month and increases with thesis progress.

We offer a wide range of staff benefits, such as occupational health care, flexible working hours, excellent sports facilities on campus and several restaurants and cafés on campus with staff discounts. The position is located at the Aalto University Otaniemi campus which can be easily reached by public transport.

HOW TO APPLY
Please submit your application through our online recruitment system (please use the "Apply now!" link below to acces the recruitment system).

The closing date for applications is March 23th, 2024 (23:59 EEST).
Please write your application and all the accompanying documentation in English and attach them in PDF format. Please attach only the following documents to your application:

• A letter of motivation describing your research interests and how the research fits to the Robot Learning research group (max. 1 page)
• Curriculum vitae (including the contact details of two referees)
• A list of publications as a part of the curriculum vitae
• PDF copy of your MSc and BSc degree certificates, including transcripts of all MSc and BSc university records (grades and courses) and their English translations (Finnish and Swedish certificates are also accepted)

Please note that our recruitment system allows max 5 attachments, so please combine the copies of certificates and transcripts in one PDF, if necessary.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For further information, please contact Assistant Professor Joni Pajarinen, joni.pajarinen@aalto.fi. Additional information in recruitment process related questions, please contact HR partner Camilla Hanganpää, camilla.hanganpaa@aalto.fi.


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