PhD Candidate in Soft Aerial Robotics and Autonomy

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At NTNU, 9,000 employees and 43,000 students work to create knowledge for a better world.

You will find more information about working at NTNU and the application process here.

   

Video: https://youtu.be/Xt-yHCN5QS0

About the position

Aerial robotics have scored significant successes yet – interestingly – they have long employed body morphologies that merely represent miniaturizations of manned aviation concepts or have resorted to biomimicry. However, novel missions and environments require that we look into new designs and concepts both for the robot’s morphology as well as its control and autonomy. 

To that end, soft bodies offer the possibility to create flying robots with unique capabilities. By exploiting advanced materials, we can achieve anisotropic compliance – offering softness only in the desired directions of interaction – while maintaining light weight and high control authority. Importantly, body softness can be exploited by appropriately designed control in order to achieve enhanced safety and the ability to navigate particularly cluttered and high-risk environments. In turn, deriving such control laws represents its own challenge calling for the utilization of advanced techniques including but not limited to deep reinforcement learning and model predictive control. 

The position is part of the Autonomous Robots Lab activities in resilient robotic autonomy across diverse operational conditions and environments. The Autonomous Robots Lab has leading research in robotic autonomy and demonstrated performance in a collection of world-class projects funded by both European and US sources. For more details about our team and our publication track record, see: https://www.autonomousrobotslab.com/publications.html. Recent examples of our work can be seen in the following videos of our robotic experimentation: https://youtu.be/l8Su8OXsM-E & https://youtu.be/nS2WgZldIv4 & https://youtu.be/OO2P4N0drGc & https://youtu.be/C6l7Vklbc9k & https://youtu.be/o56wAkelRzU

For a position as a PhD Candidate, the goal is a completed doctoral education up to an obtained doctoral degree. 

Your immediate leader is Professor Kostas Alexis as the main scientific supervisor of the research.

About the project

The activity will be part of the funded Horizon Europe project “RESSORT: Resilient Efficient Soft and Sustainable Optimized Robotics Technology” in which NTNU is partner (Coordinator: VUA, Brussels). Research collaboration with the consortium partners is also expected. 

Duties of the position

• Complete the doctoral education until obtaining a doctorate
• Carry out research of good quality within the framework described above
• Fundamental contributions in soft aerial robot design
• Fundamental contributions in control for flying robots 
• Contributions in robot learning, model predictive control or other key method 
• Focus on robust sim2real transfer, robot realization and testing 

Be prepared for changes to your work duties after employment.

Required selection criteria

• You must have a professionally relevant background in any or all of the domains of machine learning, evolutionary algorithms, optimization, robotics and other synergistic domains. 
• Your education must correspond to a five-year Norwegian degree program, where 120 credits are obtained at master's level.
• You must have a strong academic background from your previous studies and an average grade from the master's degree program, or equivalent education, which is equal to B or better compared with NTNU's grading scale. If you do not have letter grades from previous studies, you must have an equally good academic basis. If you have a weaker grade background, you may be assessed if you can document that you are particularly suitable for a PhD education.
• You must meet the requirements for admission to the faculty's doctoral program (see: https://www.ntnu.edu/ie/research/phd) 

PLEASE NOTE: For detailed information about what the application must contain, see paragraph “About the application”.

The appointment is to be made in accordance with NTNUs guidelines for recruitment positions for general criteria for the position.

Preferred selection criteria

• Knowledge and skills in software engineering including strong background in C++ and/or Python. 
• Experience with robot modeling and design in CAD
• Experience with reinforcement learning or model predictive control. 
• Experience with the Robot Operating System (ROS).
• Experience with simulators for robotic systems.
• Experience with implementation of real-life robotic systems.
• Good written and oral English skills.

Personal characteristics

To complete a doctoral degree (PhD), it is important that you are able to:

• Be scientifically curious and open to new research challenges.
• Demonstrate independence and persistence in addressing technical problems.
• Be flexible and reliable, with ability to work effectively independently and as part of a team. 

We offer

• Exciting and stimulating tasks in a strong international academic environment
• An open and inclusive work environment with dedicated colleagues
• Career guidance and follow-up during the PhD period
• Working capital that can be used to implement the project
• Mentor programme as a new employee at NTNU
• Favorable terms as a member of the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (SPK)

As a PhD Candidate at NTNU, you will have access to employee benefits.

Diversity

Diversity is a strength, and at NTNU we aim to be an employer that reflects the diversity in society and that makes use of the potential of the population's collective skills. Our vision is Knowledge for a better world and our values ​​are creative, critical, constructive and respectful. We believe that an organization that is equal, diverse and gender-balanced is essential for us to achieve our goals. 

We strive to attract employees with different skills, life experiences and perspectives to contribute to even better problem solving of our societal mission in research and education. 

If you think this position is relevant and interesting, we encourage you to apply, regardless of gender, functional ability and cultural background, or whether you have been out of work for a period of time.

At NTNU we want to increase the proportion of women in scientific positions. We have a number of measures to promote equality. 

Salary and conditions

In the position of PhD Candidate, code 1017, your gross salary will normally be from NOK 550 800,-per annum depending on qualifications and seniority. A 2% statutory contribution to the State Pension Fund is deducted from the salary. 

The employment period is 3 years.

For employment as a PhD Candidate, it is a prerequisite that you gain admission to the PhD program in Engineering Cybernetics  within three months of your employment contract start date, and that you participate in an organized doctoral program through out the period of employment.

The position is conditional on external funding.

As an employee at NTNU, it is important that you keep yourself up to date with academic and organizational changes and adapt to them.

For the necessary professional and social interaction, it is a prerequisite that you are physically present and available to the institution on a daily basis.

The appointment is carried out in accordance with the principles of the State Employees Act, and Export control (legislation that regulates the export of knowledge, technology and services). Candidates who, after assessment of the application and attachments, are considered to be in conflict with the criteria in the latter act, will not be able to be employed.

About the application

The attachments (including a description of your scientific work) must accompany the application as these documents form the basis of the application assessment. The documents must be in Norwegian/a Scandinavian language or English.

Please note: the application will only be assessed on the basis of the information we have received by the application deadline. Therefore, make sure that your application clearly shows how your skills and experience meet the criteria described above. The application and all attachments must be sent electronically via Jobbnorge.no. If you are invited to an interview, you must bring certified copies of certificates and diplomas upon request.

The application must include:(decide on what must be included - remove what does not fit):

• CV and certificates 
• Transcripts and diplomas for Bachelor's and Master's degrees. If you have not completed the master's degree, you must submit a confirmation that the master's thesis has been submitted.
• A copy of the Master's thesis. If you recently have submitted your Master's thesis, you can attach a draft of the thesis. Documentation of a completed Master's degree must be presented before taking up the position.
• Name and contact information of mimimum two referees
• If you have publications, software that you have developed or other relevant research work please include it (or a summary for it)

If all, or parts, of your education has been taken abroad, we also ask you to attach documentation of the scope and quality of your entire education, both Bachelor's and Master's education, in addition to other higher education. If your institution uses “diploma supplement” (normal for most European institutions), you must attach this. A description of the documentation required can also be found here. If you already have a statement from Norwegian Directorate for Higher Education and Skills (HK-dir), please attach this as well.

Joint work will be considered. If it is difficult to identify your contribution to joint work, you must attach a brief description of your participation.

When assessing the best qualified, we emphasize necessary qualifications such as education, experience and personal suitability. Motivation for the position, ambitions, and potential for research will also count when assessing the candidates.

NTNU recognizes a wide range of academic contributions and has committed itself to The San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment and CoARA (responsible assessment of research and recognition of a greater breadth of academic contributions in accordance with NTNU's social mission).

General information

A public list of applicants with name, age, job title and municipality of residence is prepared after the application deadline. If you wish to be exempt from entry on the public applicant list, this must be justified. Assessment will be made in accordance with current legislation. You will be notified if the exemption is not granted.

If you think this position looks interesting and in line with your qualifications, you are welcome to apply.

If you have any questions about the position, please contact Professor Konstantinos Alexis, email konstantinos.alexis@ntnu.no 

If you have any questions about the recruitment process, please contact HR Consultant Berit Dahl, e-mail: berit.dahl@ntnu.no 

Application deadline: 25.08.2026. 

For practical information about working at NTNU, please visit this webpage. 

The city of Trondheim is a modern European city with a rich cultural scene. Trondheim is the tech capital of Norway with a population of 200,000. The Norwegian welfare state, including healthcare, schools, kindergartens and overall equality, is probably the best of its kind in the world. Professional subsidized day-care for children is easily available. Furthermore, Trondheim offers great opportunities for education (including international schools) and possibilities to enjoy nature, culture and family life and has low crime rates and clean air quality.