Postdoctoral Researcher in Socially Aware Autonomy: Pedestrian Intention Prediction, Communication, and Real-Time Risk Estimation

Aalto University is where science and art meet technology and business. We shape a sustainable future by making research breakthroughs in and across our disciplines, sparking the game changers of tomorrow and creating novel solutions to major global challenges. Our community is made up of 16 000 students and 5 200 employees, including 446 professors. Our campus is in Espoo, Greater Helsinki, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness. This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds to join our community. 

The Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation is now inviting applications for a

Postdoctoral Researcher in Socially Aware Autonomy: Pedestrian Intention Prediction, Communication, and Real-Time Risk Estimation

The project advances predictive, human-aware autonomy for industrial vehicles and robots operating among people. The focus includes predicting pedestrian intentions, communicating machine actions, and estimating/mitigating risk in real time—toward safer, smoother interactions in urban and industrial environments. Results are disseminated through publications, demos, and stakeholder events.

The work will be conducted within the Mobile Robotics Group at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Automation in the School of Electrical Engineering in Aalto University, Finland. Supervision and collaboration of the project are by Assistant Professor Tomasz Kucner and Professor Simo Särkkä.

Role and responsibilities

• Lead the research thread on socially aware autonomous systems, including: 

  • Pedestrian intention prediction and trajectory forecasting

  • Human–machine communication and action legibility

  • Real-time risk estimation and proactive safety behavior

• Integrate perception and prediction with robust, energy-/communication-efficient sensor fusion and distributed computation where applicable (in collaboration with the Sensor Informatics and Medical Technology Group).

• Deliver high-quality publications, codebases, and demos aligned with the project’s milestones and dissemination plan.

• Contribute to the translation of research outcomes into industrially relevant prototypes for logistics/ports and mining/tunneling use cases.

Qualifications

• PhD in robotics, computer science, electrical engineering, or related field.

• Demonstrated expertise in socially aware autonomy, human intention prediction, and/or real-time risk assessment for human–robot or vehicle–pedestrian interaction.

• Strong background in machine learning and/or probabilistic modeling for motion prediction; experience with temporal deep models and multimodal perception is a plus.

• Experience deploying models in real-time systems or on edge devices is advantageous.

• Strong publication record and collaborative skills; ability to coordinate with academic/industry partners and contribute to project deliverables.

What we offer

• Engagement with a leading team in robust estimation and predictive autonomy.

• Collaboration with international partners with options for targeted research exchanges.

• Direct impact in safety-critical industrial domains through close collaboration with industry stakeholders.

• The Postdoctoral Researcher position will be filled for 2,5 years with an option to extend. The starting salary for Postdoctoral Researcher is approximately 4100 €/month. The contract includes occupational health care benefits and Finland has a comprehensive social security system.

• The starting date is June 2026, or as mutually agreed.

How to apply

Please submit your application through our online recruitment system. To access the recruitment system, please use the “Apply now!” link below.

Please include the following attachments (in English):

• CV and publication list

• Cover letter outlining relevant experience in socially aware autonomy, intention prediction, and real-time risk estimation, and how you would finalize/extend the existing line of work

• Transcripts and degree certificates

• 2–3 representative publications

• Contact information for 2–3 references

• Links to code repositories or demos (optional)

Note! Our recruitment system allows maximum of 5 attachments (max. size 5 MB), so please combine the attachments in PDF as necessary.

The application deadline is 7.6.2026.  Review of applications will begin immediately, and the position will be filled as soon as suitable candidate is identified, possibly already during the application period.

Please note: Aalto University’s employees should apply for the position via our internal HR system Workday (Internal Jobs) by using their existing Workday user account (not via the external webpage for open positions). If you are a student or visitor at Aalto University, please apply with your personal email address (not aalto.fi) via Aalto University open positions.

For further information about the available position, please contact Professor Tomasz Kucner (tomasz.kucner@aalto.fi). In application process related questions, please contact HR Advisor Johanna Haapalainen (hr-elec@aalto.fi)

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