Post-Doc in Vision-based Surgical Robot Control

Organisation/Company Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia Research Field Engineering Researcher Profile Recognised Researcher (R2) Application Deadline 31 Dec 2026 - 00:00 (UTC) Country Italy Type of Contract Other Job Status Other Is the job funded through the EU Research Framework Programme? Not funded by a EU programme Is the Job related to staff position within a Research Infrastructure? No

Offer Description

Commitment & contract: Post-Doc, 24 months

Location: Center for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Via San Quirico 19D, 16163 Genova (GE), Italy

Step into a world of endless possibilities, together let’s leave something for the future!

At IIT, we are committed to advancing human-centered Science and Technology to address the most urgent societal challenges of our era. We foster excellence in both fundamental and applied research, spanning fields such as neuroscience and cognition, humanoid technologies and robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and material sciences, offering a truly interdisciplinary scientific experience. Our approach integrates cutting-edge tools and technology, empowering researchers to push the limits of knowledge and innovation. With us, your curiosity will know no bounds.

We are dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities and fostering diversity in all its forms, creating an inclusive environment. We value the unique experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives of our people. By embracing diversity, we believe science can achieve its fullest potential.

THE TEAM

You will be working in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary group, where junior and senior scientists collaborate, each with their expertise, to carry out a scientific activity with a shared research goal.

The Biomedical Robotics Lab is coordinated by Dr. Leonardo De Mattos, who is also the coordinator of AIRCARE. This is multi-disciplinary group, within which researchers from a range of scientific and engineering backgrounds collaborate to create novel solutions to key problems in robotics. The lab focuses on research and development of human-centered medical robotic technologies, including technologies for microsurgery, disease detection and diagnosis, assistive user interfaces, and general healthcare.

BRL is part of the Advanced Robotics research unit, directed by Prof. Darwin Caldwell. This large department focuses on an innovative, multidisciplinary approach to robot design and control, and the development of novel robotic components and technologies for applications in medical, surgical and rehabilitation robotics, exoskeletons and force augmentation, manipulation and dexterous manipulators, telepresence and teleoperation, industrial automation and robotics, active perception and learning, inspection robotics, hyper-redundant robots, robot dynamics and robots for hazardous environments.

THE PROJECT

This position is part of the Horizon Europe project AIRCARE, an Innovation Action dedicated to the advancement of robotics and AI technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) diseases. The aim of the project is to assess these novel technologies through clinical trials, i.e., through tests involving human patients.

The project is ongoing and we have just finished the first phase dedicated to the definition of requirements, specifications, design and preliminary prototyping. We are now starting the super exciting phase of user testing, iterative systems improvements, preparation for the clinical trials, and R&D towards advanced functionalities and capabilities.

In this context, IIT’s Biomedical Robotics Lab (BRL) is seeking to appoint a highly motivated Post-Doc to a key role involving the development, deployment and advanced research towards higher levels of autonomy in robotic surgery. Specifically, we are looking for a colleague with experience in vision systems and vision-based control to contribute to research and development of the next-generation systems for transoral laser microsurgery.

THE ROLE

The selected candidate will join AIRCARE’s consortium and work in a multi-disciplinary team of engineers and surgeons. He/she will contribute to refinement, validation, deployment and clinical testing of a novel robot-assisted laser microsurgery system for the upper aero-digestive tract. Core focus will be on vision systems for adding autonomy to our surgical robots. Testing of some of these functionalities in the operating room is foreseen. For advanced functionalities, testing in the lab based on a realistic surgical setup and ex-vivo tissues is envisaged. The work will involve extensive experimentation with our partner surgeons (both in the lab and in the OR). The position requires physical presence in the lab at IIT in Genova, Italy. Remote work is not possible.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Design, implementation and testing of vision systems for surgical task autonomy
• Contribution to the documentation needed for clinical trials
• Extensive experimentation with our partner surgeons
• Preparation of reports and scientific papers

References

• Shunlei Li, Ajay Gunalan, Muhammad Adeel Azam, Veronica Penza, Darwin G. Caldwell, Leonardo S. Mattos, “Auto-CALM: Autonomous Computer-Assisted Laser Microsurgery,” IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, , 6(4), pp. , November 2024
• Muhammad Adeel Azam, Claudio Sampieri, Alessandro Ioppi, Chiara Baldini, Shunlei Li, Sara Moccia, Giorgio Peretti and Leonardo S. Mattos, “Automatic Delineation of Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma during Endoscopy,” Biomedical Signal Processing & Control, , 2 November 2023
• Lapo Carrieri, Michele Di Lucchio, Luca Giannoni, Alperen Acemoglu, and Leonardo S. Mattos, “Design and Control of a Novel Computer-Assisted Laser Microsurgery System Based on Rotary Voice Coil Actuators,” IEEE Transactions on Medical Robotics and Bionics, Print ISSN: , Online ISSN: , , October 6, 2025
• Maria Koskinopoulou, Alperen Acemoglu, Leonardo S. Mattos, “Dual Robotic-Arm Collaborative System for Autonomous Venous Access Based on Ultrasound Scanning and Bioimpedance Sensing Technology,” Proceedings of the 2023 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2023), London, UK, , May, 2023
• Penza, V., Salerno, D., Acemoglu, A., Ortiz, J., Mattos, L., “Hybrid Visual Servoing for Autonomous Robotic Laser Tattoo Removal,” Proceedings of the 2019 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2019), , Macau, China, November 2019

ESSENTIAL REQUIREMENTS

• PhD degree in engineering, computer science or related field
• Experience with vision systems
• Experience in control of robotic systems
• Experience in medical robotics
• Strong publication record
• Strong interest in medical devices
• Capacity to work autonomously and collaboratively in a highly interdisciplinary environment
• Possess Analytical Reasoning skills and a growth mindset
• Proficiency in spoken and written English
• Availability to work in Genoa, Italy

ADDITIONAL SKILLS

• Experience with real-time vision systems
• Experience in the control of robotic arms, such as the Kuka Med, UR5, or Franka
• Experience in automation and/or autonomous systems
• Knowledge of study design and experimental data analysis
• Research experience in the context of robotic microsurgery
• Experience in the development of medical devices under MDR
• Experience in clinical trials
• Proficiency in Italian
• Ability to work in a challenging and international environment

COMPENSATION PACKAGE

• A yearly gross salary ranging between 37500€ and 45000€
• Private health care coverage depending on your role and contract
• Candidates from abroad or Italian citizens who have carried scientific research activity permanently abroad and meet specific requirements, may be entitled to a deduction from taxable income of up to 90% from 6 to 13 years.

This open position is financed by the European Commission within the AIRCARE project (GA No. ).

Please submit your application using the online form and including a detailed CV, university transcripts, cover letter, and contact details of 2 references.

The position will remain open until a suitable candidate is found.

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