Research Assistant/Associate (f/m/d) - Intelligent robotic platform for motor rehabilitation

Weitere Informationen

The successful candidate will be employed under a regular employment contract.
The position is to be filled at the earliest possible date and offered for a fixed term of 2 years initially.
The Extension of the contract for additional 3 years is planned.
The fixed-term employment is possible as it constitutes one of the fixed-term options of the Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz (German Act on Fixed-term Scientific Contracts).
This is a full-time position.
The salary is based on the German public service salary scale (TV-L).
The position corresponds to a pay grade of EG 13 TV-L.

Unser Profil

The Institute of Automatic Control under the direction of Prof. Heike Vallery is part of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University. The institute specializes in control and automation engineering and acts as a bridge between theory and various application areas of automation and control engineering. Next to offering fundamental education in control theory, the institute applies control engineering methods to address research questions in the fields of biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, automotive engineering, process engineering, and energy engineering. The "Biomedical Engineering” department investigates the control and automation of medical and clinical treatments, applications, and processes in the healthcare sector.

For more information please see: www.irt.rwth-aachen.de.

Ihr Profil

You have successfully completed a university degree program (Master's or equivalent) in automation engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, physics, or a similar field of study. You have a strong fundamental knowledge of control engineering and are eager to further develop your expertise in this field and contribute actively to scientific projects, as well as to teach and pass on your knowledge to students. You are communicative and a team player, speak and write English fluently, and preferably also have some knowledge of German (if not, you are willing to learn German).

Ihre Aufgaben

As part of the institute's “Biomedical Systems” research branch, you will work with international and interdisciplinary project partners to research how mobile robotics can contribute to improving the quality of life for older and/or physically impaired individuals. The PhD position focuses on our innovative autonomous robotic ball Fizzy - a spherical, underactuated robot that has been specially designed for motor rehabilitation and preventive health care of children. Fizzy is expected to attract the attention of probands and thus promote physical activity. Research topics include environmental perception, human-robot interaction and intelligent control algorithms for increasing user interaction. The underactuation of the robotic platform opens up exciting methodological challenges not only from an application point of view but also from a control engineering perspective. Promising approaches may leverage robust control schemes and machine learning to render Fizzy safe and interactive. 

The project is funded by the acclaimed Humboldt Professorship held by Prof. Heike Vallery. The intelligent robotic ball is also part of the recently founded Robotics Institute Germany (RIG), which bundles cutting-edge research in the field of robotics and brings together leading laboratories across Germany. Besides both relevant and visible research, the institute is committed to international and interdisciplinary cooperations, offers opportunities for teaching and promotes personal development in e.g. writing scientific proposals and theses.

Über uns

RWTH is a certified family-friendly University. We support our employees in maintaining a good work-life balance with a wide range of health, advising, and prevention services, for example university sports. Employees who are covered by collective bargaining agreements and civil servants have access to an extensive range of further training courses and the opportunity to purchase a job ticket.
RWTH is an equal opportunities employer. We therefore welcome and encourage applications from all suitably qualified candidates, particularly from groups that are underrepresented at the University. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability or age. RWTH is strongly committed to encouraging women in their careers. Female applicants are given preference if they are equally suitable, competent, and professionally qualified, unless a fellow candidate is favored for a specific reason.
As RWTH is committed to equality of opportunity, we ask you not to include a photo in your application.
You can find information on the personal data we collect from applicants in accordance with Articles 13 and 14 of the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) at http://www.rwth-aachen.de/dsgvo-information-bewerbung.

Besoldung / Entgelt

EG 13 TV-L