Research Associate (Robotics)

About the role

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering is one of the founding Schools of the Nanyang Technological University. Built on a culture of excellence, the School is renowned for its high academic standards and research. With over 3,000 undergraduates students and 2,000 graduate students it is one of the largest EEE schools in the world and ranks 4th in the field of Electrical & Electronic Engineering in the 2025 QS World University Rankings by Subjects. Today, the School has become one of the world’s largest engineering schools that nurtures competent engineers and researchers. Each year, the School graduates over a thousand students who are ready to take on great ambitions and challenges. For more details, please view: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/eee The project aims to develop robust, intelligent and efficient navigation systems for inspection robots, enabling autonomous localization, decision-making, motion planning and safe navigation in complex, dynamic real-world environments. The Research Associate will support research on robot navigation, focusing on the integration of visual perception, localization, planning and navigation. The role will also investigate learning-based approaches, including diffusion models and reinforcement learning, for navigation decision-making, trajectory generation and adaptive robot behavior. Key Responsibilities: Design and develop navigation algorithms for inspection robots in complex and dynamic environments. Work on global and local motion planning, obstacle avoidance, trajectory generation and trajectory tracking for humanoid robots. Investigate diffusion models and diffusion-based policies for navigation planning, trajectory generation and action prediction. Apply reinforcement learning and/or imitation learning methods to improve navigation performance and adaptive robot behavior. Integrate visual navigation and planning modules with humanoid locomotion and whole-body control systems. Build and evaluate algorithms in simulation environments and on real-world humanoid robotic platforms. Contribute to publications and technical reports Assist in mentoring students and supporting research activities Job Requirements: Master’s degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields Strong background in at least one of the following: robot motion planning and control; autonomous decision-making; robot localization and navigation. Experience in one or more of the following: path planning, motion planning, trajectory optimization or model predictive control; reinforcement learning, imitation learning or learning-based control; diffusion policies or generative decision-making; robotics physics simulators (e.g., Isaac Gym, MuJoCo, Gazebo) Proficiency in Python and/or C++ Experience with PyTorch or similar deep learning frameworks Strong problem-solving ability and hands-on implementation skills We regret to inform you that only shortlisted candidates will be notified. Hiring Institution: NTU A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 33,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Engineering, Business, Science, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, and Graduate colleges. It also has a medical school, the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, established jointly with Imperial College London. NTU is also home to world-class autonomous institutes – the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Earth Observatory of Singapore, and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering – and various leading research centres such as the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI) and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N). Ranked amongst the world’s top universities by QS, NTU has also been named the world’s top young university for the past seven years. The University’s main campus is frequently listed among the Top 15 most beautiful university campuses in the world and has 57 Green Mark-certified (equivalent to LEED-certified) buildings, of which 95% are certified Green Mark Platinum. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a campus in Novena, Singapore’s healthcare district. Under the NTU Smart Campus vision, the University harnesses the power of digital technology and tech-enabled solutions to support better learning and living experiences, the discovery of new knowledge, and the sustainability of resources. For more information, visit www.ntu.edu.sg About NIE About RSIS About LKCMedicine About NTUItive