PhD Position Safe GPAI Planning, Decision-Making and Active Perception for Reliable Robot Autonomy (Robotics)

TL;DR

PhD Researcher (Robotics/GPAI): Developing safe GPAI-based planning, decision-making, and active perception methods for reliable robot autonomy with an accent on the interface between model-based control, learning-based decision-making, and active perception. Focus on solving uncertainty in dynamic environments, optimizing viewpoint selection for sensor fusion, and integrating hybrid data-driven and physics-based architectures.

Location: Must relocate to Delft, Netherlands

Salary: €3,059 - €3,881 per month

Company

hirify.global is a top international university combining science, engineering, and design to address global challenges in energy, climate, mobility, and digital society.

What you will do

• Develop safe GPAI-powered planning and decision-making methods for autonomous robots.
• Research the interface between model-based control, learning-based decision-making, and active perception.
• Investigate the balance between reactive behavior and long-horizon planning.
• Study active perception to select informative viewpoints and fuse multimodal sensor data to reduce uncertainty.
• Collaborate with OPERA consortium partners to contribute to an open-source toolbox.
• Validate theoretical research through testing on real robotic systems within the Reliable Robot Control Lab.

Requirements

• MSc degree in Systems and Control, Computer Science, Robotics, AI, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field.
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or C++.
• Advanced mathematical abilities in algorithms, optimization, probability, or learning frameworks.
• Proficiency in English (written and verbal) for academic publications and international collaboration.
• Must be able to relocate to the Netherlands.
• Availability to travel for consortium partner visits and project meetings.

Nice to have

• Experience with MPC, optimal control, or trajectory optimization.
• Knowledge of safe/robust control and decision-making under uncertainty.
• Experience in active perception, sensor fusion, and viewpoint planning.
• Background in Reinforcement Learning or safe learning.
• Proficiency with ROS/ROS2 and robotic simulation tools.

Culture & Benefits

• 4-year employment period structured as two consecutive contracts.
• Annual salary increases from the first to the fourth year.
• 8% holiday allowance and an 8.3% end-of-year bonus.
• Customizable compensation package and health insurance discounts.
• Comprehensive relocation support via the "Coming to Delft Service" and a Dual Career Programme for partners.
• Professional development through the hirify.global Graduate School's Doctoral Education Programme.

Hiring process

• Submission of motivation letter, CV, exam transcripts, and MSc thesis.
• Risk assessment conducted during the final stages of recruitment to ensure knowledge security.