Joining Biorob as a Postdoc or PhD student.
Normally, researchers join Biorob by applying to funded positions, which depend on the success of grant applications (see below). In some cases, it is possible to join the lab with personal scholarships, for instance the highly competitive grants from Marie Curie (postdoc call), Swiss NSF (postdoc call), HFSP (postdoc call) or others. Note that EPFL requires that the scholarships provide specific amounts for PhD students and postdoc salaries, and laboratories are required to contribute funds such as to reach those amounts (which we normally cannot afford, unfortunately). Therefore the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships for PhD students (or those from the China Scholarship Council) are not so interesting for us as the lab needs to provide too much matching funds. In case you think you could apply for a sufficiently funded scholarship, you can contact [email protected] for a discussion.
Note also that PhD student positions are only open to applicants who have been accepted by the EPFL doctoral school (see http://phd.epfl.ch/). The first step is therefore to fill the applications for one of the relevant EPFL doctoral programs in robotics (https://www.epfl.ch/education/phd/edrs-robotics-control-and-intelligent-systems/), or related fields. Deadlines are typically April 15 and December 15. It is a good idea to mention several potential hosting labs to increase your chances to be accepted by the doctoral program.
Summary of open positions
We have the following openings:
- NEW! Postdoc and PhD student position in investigating and leveraging the neuromechanics of human locomotion using humanoid robots (Fall 2026)
NEW! Postdoc and PhD student position for a project investigating and leveraging the neuromechanics of human locomotion using humanoid robots (Fall 2026)
The Biorobotics laboratory (Biorob, https://www.epfl.ch/labs/biorob/) at EPFL (Lausanne, Switzerland) has one Postdoc and one PhD student position for a project aiming at investigating and leveraging the neuromechanics of human locomotion using humanoid robots.
The objectives of the project are (1) to investigate the principles of healthy and pathological human locomotion using numerical models (neuromechanical simulations), and (2) to use insights from biology to develop bio-inspired locomotion controllers to be used together with reinforcement learning on humanoid robots.
Background:
The versatility of human locomotion is still not well understood from a neuroscience point of view nor well replicated in humanoid robots. In particular, the interactions between higher centers (e.g. the motor cortex), the spinal cord and the musculoskeletal system are poorly understood. The goal of this project is to develop a computational architecture that (i) integrates both spinal cord circuits and supraspinal control; (ii) uses deep reinforcement learning for supraspinal planning and learning, (iii) allows testing hypotheses about human motor control and pathologies at a conceptual level, and (iv) can serve as basis for controlling and learning versatile motor skills in humanoid robots.
Requirements:
The goal would be to hire one researcher with a background in computational neuroscience (idealy with experience in numerical models of human locomotion) and one researcher with a background in robotics (ideally with expertise in the control of legged or humanoid robots). The ideal candidates should also have strong backgrounds in math and programming, and an interest in interdisciplinary research.
How to apply for the position (Postdoc): the application to the position should be sent by email to Prof. Auke Ijspeert, and consist of a motivation letter (explaining why you are interested in the project, and why you feel qualified for it), a CV (including a publication list), and the coordinates of two referees.
How to apply for the position (PhD student):
Step 1: The position is only open to applicants who have been accepted by the EPFL doctoral school (see http://phd.epfl.ch/). The first step is therefore to fill the applications for one of the relevant EPFL doctoral programs in robotics (https://www.epfl.ch/education/phd/edrs-robotics-control-and-intelligent-systems/), or related fields.
Step 2: In parallel to step 1, or once accepted by one of the doctoral programs (please specify which doctoral program and the date of acceptance), the application to the position should be sent by email to Prof. Auke Ijspeert, and consist of a motivation letter (explaining why you are interested in the project, and why you feel qualified for it) and a copy of the doctoral program application.
Informal inquiries about the relevance of an application can be sent to [email protected] (e.g. before or while submitting an application to the doctoral school), but responses can be slow because of a heavy schedule and a filled mail box.
Deadline and starting date:
Applications will be considered starting from now on, and then continuously until the position is filled. A good starting date would be September 2026.
Contact:
Information concerning the type of research carried out by the lab can be found at https://www.epfl.ch/labs/biorob/ . You should send your application and any inquiry by email to: [email protected]