Research Assistant / Research Fellow in Robotics and AI

About us

UCL’s Department of Computer Science (CS) is a top-ranked Computer Science Department in the UK. In the 2021 Research Excellence Framework (REF) evaluation, UCL Computer Science was ranked second in the UK for research power and first in England. The research will be led by the Soft Robotics Group in the UCL Computer Science Department, located at the UCL East campus and headed by Dr. Thomas George Thuruthel.

About the role

The post holder will have an exciting opportunity to work on state-of-the-art tactile sensors under UK’s new funding body ARIA. This role involves contributing to cutting-edge research and development in EIT-based tactile sensing, machine learning for real-time state estimation, and sensory-motor control optimization for robotic systems. Funding is available for this post until 30/11/2026 in the first instance.

Research Fellows - Appointment at Grade 7 is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be at Grade 6B (salary £38,607- £41,255 per annum) with payment at Grade 7 being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD Thesis.

About you

You should have a PhD in a relevant field of robotics and ideally have experience working with tactile sensing technologies. Expertise in any of the following areas is highly desirable: electronics design, dexterous manipulation, soft robotics, and machine learning.

What we offer

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits some of which are below:

• 41 Days holiday (27 days annual leave 8 bank holiday and 6 closure days)
• Additional 5 days annual leave purchase scheme
• Defined benefit career average revalued earnings pension scheme (CARE)
• Cycle to work scheme and season ticket loan
• Immigration loan
• Relocation scheme for certain posts
• On-Site nursery
• On-site gym
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay
• Employee assistance programme: Staff Support Service
• Discounted medical insurance Visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Please click the ‘Apply Now’ button below to apply for the vacancy.

A job description and person specification can be accessed at the bottom of this page. To apply for the vacancy please click on the ‘Apply Now’ button below If you have any queries regarding the vacancy or the application process, please contact Dr. Thomas George Thuruthel,

Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

As London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation, and we want our community to represent the diversity of the world’s talent. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates who are likely to be underrepresented in UCL’s workforce. These include people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds; disabled people; LGBTQI+ people; and for our Grade 9 and 10 roles, women.

You can read more about our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/equality-diversity-inclusion/.

Our department holds an Athena SWAN Gold award, in recognition of our commitment and demonstrable impact in advancing gender equality. This appointment is subject to UCL Terms and Conditions of Service for Research and Support Staff.

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