Postdoctoral Research Associate - Robotics and Navigation

About the role

We are seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate in Robotics and Navigation who will focus on developing an autonomous underground exploration and mapping robotic platform.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement a modular ROS 2 software architecture for onboard sensing, autonomy, mapping, data logging, launch management, and configuration management.
• Develop and integrate ROS 2 drivers and hardware interfaces for LiDAR, inertial measurement units, RGB or stereo cameras, wheel odometry, survey-grade laser scanners, and additional sensing systems.
• Develop robust procedures for sensor calibration, coordinate-frame management, timestamp synchronization, and data acquisition across heterogeneous devices.
• Develop and evaluate multi-sensor localization and state-estimation methods that fuse LiDAR, IMU, camera, and wheel-odometry data in GPS-denied, low-light environments.
• Implement LiDAR-based or LiDAR-inertial SLAM, factor-graph or pose-graph optimization, loop-closure validation, drift estimation, and drift-correction methods for long trajectories in environments with limited and repetitive geometric features.
• Develop autonomous navigation capabilities, including path planning, obstacle avoidance, autonomous exploration, frontier selection, and localization-aware trajectory planning.
• Develop high accuracy point cloud registration and mapping workflows.
• Plan and conduct experiments on physical robotic systems.
• Establish quantitative measures for localization drift, mapping accuracy, and navigation reliability.
• Publish results in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings, and communicate findings through technical reports and presentations.
• Deliver ORNL’s mission by aligning behaviors, priorities, and interactions with our core values of Impact, Integrity, Teamwork, Safety, and Service.
• Promote equal opportunity by fostering a respectful workplace – in how we treat one another, work together, and measure success.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in robotics, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, aerospace engineering, or a closely related field obtained in the last five years.
• Demonstrated experience developing robotic systems using ROS 2.
• Hands-on experience integrating sensors, actuators, computing hardware, or communications interfaces on a mobile robotic platform.
• Demonstrated research or development experience in one or more of the following areas: automated controls, SLAM, autonomous navigation, or trajectory planning.
• Experience integrating hardware, deploying, and evaluating algorithms on physical robots.
• Proficiency in Python, modern C++, and Linux-based development environments.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with point cloud processing and registration using libraries such Open3D or equivalent.
• Experience with LiDAR-based or LiDAR-inertial SLAM, high-accuracy point cloud mapping, or scan-to-scan registration.
• Experience with ROS 2 navigation stack, lifecycle-managed nodes, TF2, rosbag workflows, and distributed system diagnostics.
• Experience with CUDA and deployment on NVIDIA edge-GPU platforms (Jetson Orin, Thor, or Spark).
• Experience calibrating and synchronizing LiDAR, IMU, camera, and wheel-odometry systems.
• Experience with underground, off-road, subterranean, or other unstructured-environment robotics and field testing.
• Experience with Docker for containerization and deployment.
• A strong publication record in robotics, controls, autonomous systems, sensor fusion, mapping, or a related area.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work independently and to participate creatively in collaborative teams across the laboratory.
• Ability to function well in a fast-paced research environment, set priorities to accomplish multiple tasks within deadlines, and adapt to ever changing needs.