Post Doctoral Fellow - Automated Robotic Surface Repair

Position Summary

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to work on an automated robotic system for surface damage detection and additive repair. The project combines 3D scanning, computational geometry, and collaborative robot control into an end-to-end pipeline — from scanning and damage detection through toolpath generation and robot-executed repair. The postdoc will work across both the algorithms and hands-on robotics sides of the project.

Responsibilities

• Develop algorithms for 3D surface damage detection, repair surface reconstruction, and conformal toolpath planning
• Program and operate a collaborative robot arm for automated scanning and material deposition
• Conduct physical experiments to validate system performance on test specimens
• Develop software tools (Python, C++) for pipeline automation and operator interfaces
• Publish in peer-reviewed journals and support proposal writing

Requirements

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or closely related field
• Strong Python skills; working knowledge of C/C++
• Background in computational geometry, 3D mesh/point cloud processing, or sensor-robot calibration
• Hands-on experimental research experience

Qualifications

• Preferred Qualifications: Experience with robot programming and control, additive manufacturing, cold spray, or thermal spray, familiarity with 3D scanning systems or robot SDKs (ROS, vendor APIs), background in surface metrology or defect detection

Skills

No specific skills are listed, but the position requires strong programming skills and hands-on research experience.

Benefits

No specific benefits are mentioned in the job posting.

Pay

Salary is commensurate with experience and education.

Schedule

No specific schedule is mentioned in the job posting.