The posting
Join Way of Water, a funded field-robotics project at ETH Zurich (Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, Research D'Andrea). This is a project employee (staff) role: you come in to deliver engineering work for the life of the project. It is not a PhD position and not an academic training track. We build autonomous surface robots that have to work outdoors, on real water, as a team — not only in the lab.
This role is for someone with a control and systems bent who wants ownership, not a fixed checklist. You will shape how robots move, sense and recover when the world is messy. The brief will widen as the fleet, software and field programme grow. Specialization helps you start strong. Curiosity across the stack is how you grow into more.
Compensation is competitive for a funded project role and depends on experience.
100%, IDSC - Research D'Andrea, Fixed-term project staff (~18 months)
Own the behaviour of physical robots: how they move, hold intent, coordinate and fail gracefully. Turn ideas into working software on real hardware, then harden it with experiments you help design and run. Work at the seams with sensors, actuators, mechanical limits and electrical realities. Close loops from field evidence back into better behaviour. Make testing and commissioning something the team can repeat, not a one-off heroics exercise. Share what you learn: clear notes, teachable setups, and room for students and colleagues to build on your work. About 0–5 years of hands-on experience after your degree. Internships, thesis projects, Focus projects and paid project work count. This is an early-career project-staff role. A background in robotics, control, mechanical or electrical engineering, computer science, or equivalent practice. Depth in dynamics, estimation or control of physical systems. Evidence you have shipped behaviour on real robots (or comparable cyber-physical systems), not only simulation. Hands-on work is required, not optional: you write, run and debug software on real hardware yourself — bench bring-up, field trials, logs and measurements — not desk-only or simulation-only work. Comfort writing and debugging software that talks to hardware (for example C/C++, Python, or similar). Judgement under incomplete information: you investigate, measure, decide, and iterate. Appetite for outdoor and on-water testing. Field days are part of the job, including Lake Zürich and partner sites. An independent working style, and documentation habits that help a small team scale. We care more about how you think and what you have finished than about a matching keyword list. This is project engineering work, not a doctorate. Experience with ROS/ROS 2, embedded or real-time constraints, multi-robot systems, or published technical work is welcome if you have it.
How you grow here
You start with a control and autonomy focus. Over the project, the work naturally reaches into estimation, planning interfaces, system integration, field campaigns, and safety-minded verification. Mechanical and electronics colleagues own their layers. You learn enough of theirs to integrate well. Growth here means broader robotics craft and ownership inside a fixed-term project. There may separately be an opportunity to join a planned spin-off early if that is a mutual fit after or alongside project delivery.
Working with the team
You will also work closely with established entrepreneurs, world-class scientists, and engineers who are artists. They are people who have built a billion-dollar company, sent hardware to the International Space Station, and created live performance-art installations at the Venice Biennale.
We look forward to receiving your online application with the following documents:
CV A short note on one or two projects you personally drove. What did you build, what broke, what did you learn, and what would you do differently? Links to code, reports, or demos help when you can share them. Sanitized examples are fine. Further information about Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control can be found on our website. Questions regarding the position should be directed to Aswin Karthik Ramachandran Venkatapathy, [email protected] (no applications).
Please note that we exclusively accept applications submitted through our online application portal. Applications via email or postal services will not be considered.
We would like to point out that the pre-selection is carried out by the responsible recruiters and not by artificial intelligence.
