PhD Research Fellow in Mobile Robotics

About the position

Position as PhD Research Fellow in Mobile Robotics available at the Department of Technology Systems, in collaboration with the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI)

Starting date no later than 1st of September 2026.

The fellowship period is three years.

A fourth year may be considered and it will involve 25 % of other career-promoting work. Other career-promoting work may consist of teaching, supervision, and/or re-search assistance. This is dependent upon the qualification of the applicant and the current need of the Department.

No one can be appointed for more than one PhD Research Fellowship period at the University of Oslo.

More about the position / Project description

The PhD research fellow will work in the Autosender project, which is a collaborative project between the Department of Technology Systems at the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI). The project aims to enhance current multi-sensor situational awareness systems integrating them with a new autonomous unmanned ground vehicle capable of navigating Norwegian forest environments. The main goal of the project is to develop and implement an intelli-gent autonomous solution that can deploy and retrieve sensor nodes efficiently, targeting dual-use applications for both military and civilian purposes. The fellow will mainly work on robot development and autonomous navigation but based on the interests of the PhD fellow there are also opportunities to investigate planning and optimization of sensor placement, human-robot interaction, operation in winter and arctic conditions, as well as use of communication nodes in addition to the sensor packages.

Qualifications

The Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences has a strategic ambition to be among Europe’s leading communities for research, education and innovation. Candidates for these fellowships will be selected in accordance with this and expected to be in the upper segment of their class with respect to academic credentials.

Required qualifications:

• Master’s degree or equivalent in robotics, computer science, mechanical engi-neering, electrical engineering or related fields.
• Foreign completed degree (M.Sc.-level) corresponding to a minimum of four years in the Norwegian educational system
• Fluent oral and written communication skills in English and a Scandinavian language (due to security and safety requirements for field experiments)
• The candidate must fulfil the requirements for a Norwegian security clearance
  Candidates without a master’s degree have until 1st of July 2025 to complete the final exam.

Desired qualifications:

• Experience in areas such as machine learning, computer vision, control sys-tems, perception, control engineering, or autonomous systems
• Familiarity with ROS (Robot Operating System) and programming languages like Python or C++
• Experience working with robots or other physical mechatronics equipment 
• Experience with designing and building robots or mechatronics systems, pref-erably using rapid prototyping techniques like 3D printing
• Demonstrated interest and enthusiasm for robotics and related technologies
• Previous involvement in research projects (with or without publication)

Language requirement:

Good oral and written communication skills in English, as well as a Scandinavian Language

Grade requirements:
The norm is as follows:

• The average grade point for courses included in the Bachelor’s degree must be C or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The average grade point for courses included in the Master’s degree must be B or better in the Norwegian educational system
• The Master’s thesis must have the grade B or better in the Norwegian educa-tional system

The purpose of the fellowship is research training leading to the successful comple-tion of a PhD degree. For more information see:
http://www.mn.uio.no/english/research/phd/

All candidates and projects will have to undergo a check versus national export, sanctions and security regulations. Candidates may be excluded based on these checks. Primary checkpoints are the Export Control regulation, the Sanctions regula-tion, and the national security regulation.

What are we looking for in you? 

• Ability to work both independently and collaboratively in a multi-disciplinary team
• Willingness to learn and adapt to emerging technologies and methodologies within the field
• A strong desire to explore new ideas, ask questions, and pursue innovative solutions
• Ability to remain motivated and focused even when faced with challenges or failures

Employment in the position is based on a comprehensive assessment of all qualification requirements applicable to the position, including personal qualifications.

We need different perspectives in our work 

UiO is an open and internationally oriented comprehensive university that strives to be an inclusive and diverse workplace and academic environment. You can read more about UiO’s work on equality, inclusion, and diversity at uio.no.

We fulfill our mission most effectively when we draw upon our variety of experiences, backgrounds, and perspectives. We are looking for great colleagues—could you be the next one?

We will do our best to accommodate your needs. Relevant adjustments may include modifications to working hours, task adaptations, digital, technical, or physical adjustments, or other practical measures.

If you have an immigrant background, a disability, or CV gaps (Norwegian), we encourage you to indicate this in the job application portal. We always invite at least one qualified candidate from each group for an interview. In this context, disability is defined as an applicant who identifies as having a disability that requires workplace or employment-related accommodations. For more details about the requirements, please refer to the Employer portal (Norwegian).

The selections made in the job application portal are used for anonymized statistics that all state employers include in their annual reports.

More information about gender equality initiatives at UiO can be found here.

We hope you will apply for the position with us. 

We can offer you

• Exciting and meaningful tasks in an organization with an important societal mission, contributing to knowledge development, education, and enlightenment that promote sustainable, fair, and knowledge-based societal development.
• A pleasant and stimulating work environment
• Good welfare schemes.
• Opportunity of up to 1.5 hours a week of exercise during working hours.
• A workplace with good development and career opportunities - Career development programmes
• Membership in the Statens Pensjonskasse, which is one of Norway's best pension schemes with beneficial mortgages and good insurance schemes.
• Oslo’s family-friendly surroundings with their rich opportunities for culture and outdoor activities
• Salary in position as Doctoral Research Fellow, position code 1017 in salary range NOK from 550 800 - 595 000, depending on competence and experience. From the salary, 2 percent is deducted in statutory contributions to the State Pension Fund.

Read more about the benefits of working in the public sector at Employer Portal.

Application

Your application should include:

• Cover letter - statement of motivation and research interests
• CV (summarizing education, positions and academic work - scientific publications)
• Transcripts of records, copies of the original Bachelor’s and Master’s degree diploma (see below)
• Documentation of language proficiencies if applicable
• List of publications and academic work that the applicant wishes to be considered by the evaluation committee
• Names and contact details of 2-3 references (name, relation to candidate, e-mail and telephone number)

Application with attachments must be submitted via our recruitment system Jobbnorge, click "Apply for the position".

When applying for the position, we ask you to retrieve your education results from Vitnemålsportalen.no. If your education results are not available through Vitnemålsportalen, we ask you to upload copies of your transcripts or grades. Please note that all documentation must be in English or a Scandinavian language.

General information

The best qualified candidates will invited for interviews. 

Applicant lists can be published in accordance with Norwegian Freedom of Information Act § 25. When you apply for a position with us, your name will appear on the public applicant list. It is possible to request to be excluded from this list. You must justify why you want an exemption from publication and we will then decide whether we can grant your request. If we cannot, you will hear from us.

Please refer to Regulations for the Act on universities and colleges chapter 3 (Norwegian),  Guidelines concerning appointment to post doctoral and research posts at UiO and Regulations for the degree of Philosophiae Doctor (PhD) at the University of Oslo.

The University of Oslo has a transfer agreement with all employees that is intended to secure the rights to all research results etc.