Job Description

Job number

ENG03543

Faculties

Faculty of Engineering

Departments

Department of Computing

Salary or Salary range

43,003 - 46,297 per annum

Location/campus

South Kensington Campus - On site only

Contract type work pattern

Full time - Fixed term

Posting End Date

8 Jul 2025

About the role

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The Robot Learning Lab in the Department of Computing at Imperial College London is seeking a talented Research Assistant (pre-doc) for an ambitious new project on dexterous robot learning. In this project, we will be studying co-design of robot hardware and control for robot manipulation. "Co-design" aims to simultaneously optimise the robot hand design (e.g. the number of fingers, the shapes of the fingers, and the positions of tactile sensors), and the control policy for that hand, when given a particular task or set of tasks. Through this, we aim to develop a framework that can automatically generate creative new robot hands with dexterous control policies, for human-level or even super-human performance on real-world tasks. You will be collaborating with a small team at Imperial College led by Dr Edward Johns, as well as a larger team across the UK as part of the ARIA-funded Robot Dexterity programme (see: https://www.aria.org.uk/opportunity-spaces/smarter-robot-bodies/robot-dexterity/). This position will be fully funded until March 2028.



For further information on Dr Edward Johns' research and projects, see www.robot-learning.uk.

What you would be doing

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You will be assisting PhD students and a post-doc in developing both the algorithms for robot co-design, and the real-world evaluation of the designs that emerge, as well as providing your own research contributions. Your specific role will vary depending on project needs, such as assisting the team with evaluating evolutionary algorithms for exploring creative new hand designs, or reinforcement learning for policy optimisation, all within a huge GPU-based simulation with thousands of robots learning synchronously in parallel. In particular, you will take a leading role in creating the simulation environment, 3D printing promising robot hand designs, and setting up a robot "arm farm" at Imperial College for evaluating these designs and fine-tuning policies in the real world. You will also help to manage the project's codebase and assist with the delivery of project milestones. We expect novel algorithms and results to come from this project, and so you will have opportunities to co-author papers with the other team members.

What we are looking for

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You must have a master's degree in a relevant area, with content covering robotics and machine learning, and excellent programming skills in Python. You should have research experience in either robotics or machine learning. You should also have either hands-on experience working with physical robots, or strong enthusiasm to gain this experience.



Please see job description for a full list of requirements.

What we can offer you

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You will have the opportunity to continue your career at a world-leading institution. Imperial College is consistently in the top 10 world university rankings with the Department of Computing ranked top of the 2021 UK REF assessment.



You will receive a sector-leading salary and remuneration package (including 38 days off a year) and a comprehensive early career development support package including 10 training and development days.

Further information

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Full-time, Fixed term contract to start ASAP until March 2028.



In addition to completing the online application candidates should attach:


A full CV, with a list of all publications. A 1-page document explaining: (1) why you are interested in this position, and (2) how your experience is relevant to the project.




Informal enquiries related to the position should be directed to Dr Edward Johns: e.johns@imperial.ac.uk



For queries regarding the application process contact Jamie Perrins: j.perrins@imperial.ac.uk

Available documents

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Attached documents are available under links. Clicking a document link will initialize its download.

Please note that job descriptions are not exhaustive, and you may be asked to take on additional duties that align with the key responsibilities mentioned above.

We reserve the right to close the advert prior to the closing date stated should we receive a high volume of applications. It is therefore advisable that you submit your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.



If you encounter any technical issues while applying online, please don't hesitate to email us at support.jobs@imperial.ac.uk. We're here to help.


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About Imperial

Welcome to Imperial, a global top ten university where scientific imagination leads to world-changing impact.



Join us and be part of something bigger. From global health to climate change, AI to business leadership, here at Imperial we navigate some of the world's toughest challenges. Whatever your role, your contribution will have a lasting impact.



As a member of our vibrant community of 22,000 students and 8,000 staff, you'll collaborate with passionate minds across nine London campuses and a global network.



This is your chance to help shape the future. We hope you'll join us at Imperial College London.


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Our Culture

We work towards equality of opportunity, to eliminating discrimination, and to creating an inclusive working environment for all. We encourage applications from all backgrounds, communities and industries, and are committed to employing a team that has diverse skills, experiences and abilities. You can read more about our commitment on our webpages.



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