Open Positions

We are continuously looking for talented and self-motivated individuals who share our passion for robotics, AI and human-robot interaction.

Currently we are seeking to fill the position

• Open-Vocabulary Semantic SLAM and 3D Scene Graphs

by a postdoc OR a PhD student. The position is fully funded (100%, TVL E13) partly by the Cyber Valley and the Robotics Institute Germany (RIG) for four years.

As a PhD student you will conduct research in the above area with a focus on method development, dataset acquisition, and benchmarking for open-vocabulary semantic SLAM as well as integration of the methods on an autonomous mobile robot. The candidate will be part of a team of 3-4 PhD students in the same area. The position is in collaboration with the University of Bonn (Prof. Stachniss) and comes with light teaching responsibilities.

As a Postdoc you will, in addition, take a co-supervision role in the semantic SLAM team of 2-3 PhD students and represent the lab in the RIG consortium. This is a unique opportunity to publish strongly with a team, sharpen your leadership skills, and build your network with the top robotics institutions in Germany. You will given the opportunity to raise your own funding and further strengthen the team with your own PhD students. The position also includes teaching responsibilities, and candidates should be highly motivated to offer high-quality education at Bs and Ms level.

About the SIR lab

The Socially Intelligent Robotics Lab has been founded in 2023 by Kai Arras with the scientific vision to develop theory, methods and experiments that enable robots to perceive and understand their surroundings geometrically, semantically and socially for highly context-aware intelligent behavior and believable interaction with humans. We have all the bells and whistles that a robotics lab needs today: robots (Spot, Pepper, go2, Baxter, Panda, PR2 and the custom-made platforms Spencer and Daryl), sensors, and modern compute infrastructure (access to GPU clusters, power desktop machines). The lab is an informal, yet professional, fun-orientated yet ambitious place that aims to combine scientific excellence with a healthy and enjoyable working environment.

How to Apply

Apply by sending your CV in a single (!) pdf file via email to Francesca Quaranta (francesca.quaranta@ki.uni-stuttgart.de) with the subject “Application to Position on Semantic SLAM”. Application deadline is March 30th, 2025. Applicants that arrive via the IMPRS-IS Interview Symposium follow the respective IMPRS-IS instructions.