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The Soft Robotics Lab at the Institute of Robotics and Intelligent Systems, ETH Zurich, invites applications for several open postdoctoral positions. The lab aims to build, model, and control robots in fundamentally new ways to enhance flexibility, dexterity, capability, and adaptability. Research directions include soft and musculoskeletal robotics, biohybrid living systems, dexterous manipulation and robot learning, and simulation for embodied AI. Candidates are encouraged to define their own research direction within these areas.

Tasks

  • Take research ideas from concept to working systems, including designing architecture, building, integrating sensing and control, and validating through real-world experiments.
  • If focusing on systems design: design and build robots, including mechanisms, compliant structures, actuators, tendon routing, embedded electronics, motor control, and sensor integration, owning the system from CAD through fabrication to long-term hardware operation.
  • If focusing on learning: develop policies and perception for real, compliant, contact-rich hardware, including imitation learning, reinforcement learning, sim-to-real transfer, and multimodal representations using touch and vision; help define benchmarks for measurable claims.
  • Engage in rapid prototyping, measurement, and iteration throughout each design cycle.
  • Engineer bones, joints, tendons, and muscles with compliant materials, artificial actuators, or living tissue, drawing inspiration from biological musculoskeletal systems.
  • Build robots that achieve adaptive behavior through embodiment, reducing reliance on complex centralized control.
  • If focusing on biohybrid systems: work in biological laboratories at ETH, culturing and bioprinting tissue to create controllable actuators.
  • Publish at top venues, release open-source hardware and code, and present work internationally.
  • Co-supervise doctoral and Master's students, help shape subgroup direction, and collaborate across hardware, muscles, and machine learning teams.
  • Develop your own research line with support for funding applications.

Requirements

  • Extremely curious, highly motivated researcher aiming to make a real difference.
  • Independence to drive your own research direction and thrive in a collaborative, respectful team environment.
  • Completed PhD in mechanical engineering, robotics, mechatronics, electrical engineering, computer science, materials science, bioengineering, or a closely related field.
  • Deep expertise in at least one relevant area: hands-on system building and mechatronics (CAD, FEA, 3D printing, machining, molding, electronics, motor control, robot integration), machine learning and control for physical robots, soft or bio-inspired materials and actuators, tissue engineering and biofabrication, or physics-based simulation.
  • Evidence of carrying work through to reality, from idea to validated result on real hardware, with willingness to build and debug robots.
  • Record of peer-reviewed publications in leading venues demonstrating technical depth and real-world impact.
  • Prior experience mentoring or co-supervising Master's or PhD students and a collaborative, supportive mindset.
  • Strong written and spoken English, with ability to communicate to both academic and non-specialist audiences.
  • Genuine appetite for interdisciplinary, experimental research and curiosity to develop new skills across traditional boundaries.
  • Clear sense of intended research direction and its significance.

Benefits

  • Support for becoming independent, including assistance with funding applications (SNSF Ambizione, Postdoc.Mobility, ERC Starting Grant, Marie Skłodowska-Curie), conference attendance, and backing for faculty or entrepreneurial pursuits.
  • World-class lab with state-of-the-art fabrication and test facilities: in-house multi-material 3D printing, machine shop, electronics lab, biological laboratories, over 20 dexterous robotic hands, 12 robot arms, high-resolution tactile skins, and a dedicated GPU cluster with eight NVIDIA H200 GPUs, plus access to ETH's central compute and the Alps supercomputer at CSCS.
  • Multidisciplinary team of mechanical engineers, materials scientists, biologists, and machine learning researchers, embedded in ETH Zurich's robotics ecosystem.
  • Strong ties to industry and spin-offs, with support for translating research beyond the lab.
  • Opportunity to contribute to positive societal change as part of ETH Zurich.
  • Benefits including public transport season tickets, car sharing, a wide range of sports (ASVZ), childcare, and attractive pension benefits.
  • Initial one-year contract, renewed annually, on the ETH Zurich postdoctoral salary scale.
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Über uns
Die ETH Zürich ist eine technisch-naturwissenschaftliche Hochschule des Bundes mit Sitz in Zürich. Wir betreiben Lehre, Forschung und Wissenstransfer in Bereichen wie Ingenieurwissenschaften, Naturwissenschaften, Architektur, Mathematik, Informatik, Management sowie Sozial- und Geisteswissenschaften. Unsere Ausbildung umfasst Bachelor-, Master-, Doktorats- und Weiterbildungsangebote und ist eng mit internationaler Spitzenforschung verbunden. Als Teil des ETH-Bereichs entwickeln wir wissenschaftliche Grundlagen, Technologien und Lösungen für Gesellschaft, Wirtschaft und globale Herausforderungen.
Das Team

The multidisciplinary team includes mechanical engineers, materials scientists, biologists, and machine learning researchers, collaborating closely across hardware, muscles, and machine learning. The lab fosters a collaborative, respectful, and supportive environment, with strong ties to industry and spin-offs.

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