Postdoctoral Research Associate

About the Role

Brookhaven National Lab’s (BNL) AI Department is seeking a Postdoctoral Research Associate to join the Scientific Embodied Agents Lab (SEAL) within the Computing and Data Sciences (CDS) directorate. This role will focus on the intersection of AI and robotics, investigating challenges and opportunities for advanced robotics in scientific workflows. The goal is to leverage generalizable, AI-driven robotics approaches to accelerate scientific discovery and support experimental science. The successful candidate will join a growing team developing AI methods for robotics, with an emphasis on an Embodied AI paradigm.

Key Responsibilities

• Conduct fundamental and applied research and development in robotics, including work on robotic perception, control, manipulation, and interaction.
• Work effectively with single-arm, bimanual, humanoid, and semi-humanoid robots, and with various end-effectors, sensors, control interfaces, and APIs.
• Collaborate effectively with interdisciplinary teams across BNL and with academic and industry partners.
• Conceive and execute high-quality research ideas in partnership with AI Department colleagues and mentors.
• Publish and communicate research outcomes and participate in proposal and collaboration-building activities.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Ph.D. in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering awarded within the past five years, with demonstrated hands-on experience in robotics.
• Candidates with a Ph.D. in a closely related science or engineering field may be considered if they have significant demonstrated robotics experience.
• Demonstrated publication record in robotics fields and/or in AI/ML methods for robotics; or clear record of robotics projects and achievements (publications, GitHub, lab website).
• Excellent programming and computer science skills.
• Experience with robotic diagnostics, maintenance, and customization (e.g., electrical/mechanical disassembly, soldering, driver troubleshooting).
• Experience with robot simulation environments.
• Experience with 3D modeling, 3D printing, and custom hardware integration.
• Hands-on experience with robot hardware including controllers, sensors, electronics, power systems, motors, and custom manufactured parts.
• Experience with robotics for manipulation tasks.

Preferred Qualifications

• Strong theoretical understanding and practical experience in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and embodied AI.
• Experience in developing, training, evaluating, and deploying large AI/ML models in HPC and cluster computing environments.
• Experience working in multidisciplinary collaborations.
• Experience working with industry partnerships.
• Other strong areas of experience (e.g. locomotion, human-robot interaction, multi-robot systems) are considered.

Other Information

• Initial 2-year term appointment subject to renewal contingent on performance and funding.
• Candidates must have received a Ph.D. by the commencement of employment.
• Policy requires that after obtaining a PhD, eligible candidates for research associate appointments may not exceed a combined total of 5 years of relevant work experience as a post-doc and/or in an R&D position, excluding specific life events.
• This is a fully onsite position located at BNL in Upton, NY.
• Salary range: $74,050 - $122,550 / year. Offers will be commensurate with qualifications, education, and experience.