Vacant job

Are you ready to take the next step in your academic journey? As a PhD student with us, you will work closely with leading researchers in a strong and international research environment, with access to advanced laboratory equipment and good funding opportunities. You are offered a secure employment, high-quality supervision, and room to grow, both as a researcher and as a person.

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (RAI) at the Department of Systems and Space Technology at Luleå University of Technology is now looking for a PhD student to contribute to our growing operations. The RAI team conducts basic and principle research within all aspects of robotics with a specific focus on aerial, space, and bio-inspired robotics.

Subject Description

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence aims to develop new robotic systems characterized by advanced autonomy to improve the robots' ability to interact with their environment and humans during the execution of specific tasks.

Project Description

RAI's vision is to bridge the gap between theory and reality, and the team has strong expertise in field robotics. Specific application areas in focus are long-term autonomous missions in large and uncertain environments, semantic task planning with foundation models, agent-based task decomposition and event-driven replanning, as well as autonomous semantically aware inspection of complex infrastructure. The RAI team has strong European and national participation in several R&D&I projects.

Job Responsibilities

As a PhD student, you will conduct research with significant theoretical and experimental components, which will be published in leading international peer-reviewed journals and at major conferences. The position includes supervision of degree projects and support in applying for funding from research funding agencies/councils, the EU's framework programs, or industry. The position may also include teaching assistance, seminars, and presentations.

You will work within the field of robot autonomy, and all activities will be linked to national, European, and global R&D projects. The PhD position will involve extensive research activities in design, experimentation, and theoretical development. Research areas:

• Long-term autonomy in uncertain environments
• Planning and reasoning under uncertainty
• Decision-making under uncertainty
• Decentralized planning and coordination for multi-agent systems
• Mapping and scene representations
• Dynamic scene graphs modeling uncertainty
• Unified situational awareness for multi-robot systems in large and degraded environments

Qualifications

To qualify for the position, you must have a master's degree in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, or another relevant subject. Good knowledge of C++, Python, and ROS 2 is required. Strong scientific skills with demonstrated excellence in experimental research, as well as very good communication skills, are highly meritorious. You will represent the group in various contexts, both in Sweden and abroad, so very good English skills are a requirement.

For further information about the specific PhD program, see http://www.ltu.se/research/Utbildning-pa-forskarniva/Studieplaner/Allmanna-studieplaner-Teknisk-fakultetsnamnd (http://www.ltu.se/research/Utbildning-pa-forskarniva/Studieplaner/Allmanna-studieplaner-Teknisk-fakultetsnamnd)

Information

Employment as a PhD student is time-limited to 4 years; teaching and other institutional duties may be added up to 20%. Place of work: Luleå. Start date: by agreement.

For further information, please contact:

George Nikolakopoulos, Professor and Subject Representative, 0920-49 1298 [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Union Representative:

SACO-S Diana Chroneer, 0920-49 2037 [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

OFR-S Marika Vesterberg, 0920-49 1721 [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Application

We prefer that you apply for the position via the application button below. The application should include a CV with a complete description of the applicant's scientific merits, a cover letter, a list of 2 persons who can provide references for the applicant, and copies of verified diplomas from upper secondary school and university. The diplomas must be written in Swedish or English. Your application must be written in Swedish or English. Mark your application with the reference number below.

Application deadline: August 3, 2026

Reference number: 3568-2026