General Summary of Position:

We are seeking a postdoctoral research associate who will have the opportunity to conduct robot manipulation research and development in a highly visible community role.

Through a new award from the National Science Foundation, the COMPARE project seeks to develop an enhanced open-source ecosystem for robot manipulation by improving the compatibility and benchmarking of open-source products used in research and experimentation. One of the goals of COMPARE is to integrate the many open-source products towards more effective and informative benchmarking of robot manipulation capabilities, which requires coordination across their respective communities and leveraging their best practices.

Towards the goals of COMPARE, the postdoc will serve five primary functions in the day-to-day coordination of the project:

1. Defining community-based standards and guidelines for developing open-source products, conducting test and evaluation of open-source products, benchmarking robot capabilities, and reporting benchmarking results,

2. Executing test and evaluation processes to assess the performance and usability of open-source products,

3. Maintaining online resources including repositories of open-source products and benchmarking leaderboards,

4. Supporting the development and execution of ecosystem activation events including workshops, seasonal schools, and competitions, and

5. Coordinating student activities across the project leadership institutions: UMass Lowell, Rutgers University, University of South Florida, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and Yale University.

More information on the COMPARE project is available at https://www.robot-manipulation.org/.

Minimum Qualifications (Required):

• Candidates should have a PhD in Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field, with a thesis in the area of robot manipulation, programming expertise in C++ and/or Python, proficiency with the Robot Operating System (ROS), and at least two years of experience in the development/execution of robot manipulation experiments – both in simulation and in reality – that integrate a full pipeline of functionality (perception, motion planning, grasp planning, etc.).

Special Instructions to Applicants:

Only current UML Employees within the Grants & Contracts (MTA/GRACE) bargaining unit will be considered during the first 10 business days of the posting. All other candidates will be considered after that period.

Initial review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. However, the position may close when an adequate number of qualified applications is received.   

This position is contingent upon funding.  The initial appointment will be for ONE to TWO years with a possibility of renewal based on productivity and performance and the availability of funding.

Please include a resume with your application. Names and contact information of three references will be required during the application process.  Submission of a cover letter and research publications is optional.