Aalto University

The Aalto Robot Learning research group operates in the intersection of
artificial intelligence and robotics. We focus on developing methods for
reinforcement learning, robotic manipulation, decision making under partial
observability, imitation learning, and decision making in multi-agent
systems. For more information, please see
https://www.aalto.fi/en/department-of-electrical-engineering-and-automation/robot-learning.
 
The Robot Learning research group is seeking a talented PhD student to
develop novel reinforcement learning and planning methods. The methods will
be used for automating hardware acceleration generation. The project is a
collaboration with the hardware accelerator design group at Tampere
University. The project aims to create a novel automated accelerator
architecture generation tool based on reinforcement learning that starts
from high-level program descriptions and generates complete compiler
programmable accelerators with desired qualities such as optimized
energy-efficiency within a set computational latency.
 
The developed methods may be based on one of our focus areas including, but
not limited to, reinforcement learning and planning under uncertainty. The
exact direction of the research is chosen depending on your experience and
interests. Please relate clearly to some of the research topics in your
Letter of Motivation.
 
Outstanding researchers from the areas of Machine Learning, AI, and
Robotics and related areas including Reinforcement Learning, Control
Engineering, Computer Vision, Statistics & Optimization, or Mathematics &
Physics are welcome to apply. The candidate is expected to conduct
independent research and at the same time contribute to the topics listed
above. Successful candidates will be furthermore given the opportunity to
work with undergraduate, and M.Sc. students.
 
The research group collaborates with research groups in hardware design,
construction, computer vision, robotics, mobile heavy machines, human-robot
interaction, reinforcement learning, imitation learning, multi-agent
systems, under-water vehicles, and robot motion planning. Moreover, one of
the PhD students in the research group is located at the Intelligent
Autonomous Systems institute at TU Darmstadt, Germany, so there will be
ample opportunities for international collaboration.
 
WE OFFER
 
The position will be filled for a period of 4 years (2 + 2). The starting
date is in January 2023 or as mutually agreed. The salary will be based on
both the job requirements and the employee’s personal performance in
accordance with the salary system of Finnish universities. The starting
salary for a PhD student is approximately 2600 EUR/month.
 
We offer a wide range of staff benefits, such as occupational health care,
flexible working hours, excellent sports facilities on campus and several
restaurants and cafés on campus with staff discounts. The position is
located at the Aalto University Otaniemi campus which can be easily reached
by public transport.
 
HOW TO APPLY
 
Please submit your application through our online recruitment system at
https://www.aalto.fi/en/open-positions/phd-student-position-in-reinforcement-learning-and-planning-for-hardware-accelerator-design
 
The closing date for applications is December 18th, 2022 (23:59 EEST
(GMT+3)).
Please write your application and all the accompanying documentation in
English and attach them in PDF format. Please attach only the following
documents to your application:
* A letter of motivation describing your research interests and how the
research fits to the Robot Learning research group (max. 1 page)
* Curriculum vitae (including the contact details of two referees)
* A list of publications as a part of the curriculum vitae
* PDF copy of your MSc and BSc degree certificates, including transcripts
of all MSc and BSc university records (grades and courses) and their
English translations (Finnish and Swedish certificates are also accepted)
 
Please note that our recruitment system allows max 5 attachments, so please
combine the copies of certificates and transcripts in one PDF, if necessary.
 
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 
For further information, please contact Assistant Professor Joni Pajarinen,
joni.pajarinen@aalto.fi. Additional information in recruitment process
related questions, please contact HR Coordinator Camilla Hanganpää,
camilla.hanganpaa@aalto.fi.
 
ABOUT AALTO UNIVERSITY, HELSINKI, AND FINLAND
 
Aalto University (aalto.fi) is located in Finland. Finland is among the
best countries in the world according to many quality of life indicators,
including being the happiest country in the world (UN study 2018 and The
World Happiness Report 2022). In addition to a computing cluster at Aalto
University and computing clusters in Finland available to the research
group, Finland has Europe’s fastest supercomputer LUMI. Aalto University is
the foremost university in Finland in Engineering, Design and Business.
Less than a 15 minutes metro ride away from center of Helsinki, capital of
Finland, Aalto offers access to rich cultural and social life to help
maintain healthy work-life balance.
 
Aalto University is a community of bold thinkers where science and art meet
technology and business. We are committed to identifying and solving grand
societal challenges and building an innovative future. Aalto has six
schools with nearly 11 000 students and a staff of more than 4000, of which
400 are professors. Our main campus is located in the Helsinki metropolitan
area, Finland. Diversity is part of who we are, and we actively work to
ensure our community’s diversity and inclusiveness in the future as well.
This is why we warmly encourage qualified candidates from all backgrounds
to join our community.