Descripción
Join Way of Water, a funded field-robotics project at ETH Zurich (Institute for Dynamic Systems and Control, Research D'Andrea). This is a project employee (staff) role: you come in to deliver engineering work for the life of the project. It is not a PhD position and not an academic training track. We build autonomous surface robots that have to work outdoors, on real water, as a team — not only in the lab. This role is for someone with a control and systems bent who wants ownership, not a fixed checklist. You will shape how robots move, sense and recover when the world is messy. The brief will widen as the fleet, software and field programme grow. Specialization helps you start strong. Curiosity across the stack is how you grow into more. Compensation is competitive for a funded project role and depends on experience. 100%, IDSC - Research D'Andrea, Fixed-term project staff (~18 months) Own the behaviour of physical robots: how they move, hold intent, coordinate and fail gracefully. Turn ideas into working software on real hardware, then harden it with experiments you help design and run. Work at the seams with sensors, actuators, mechanical limits and electrical realities. Close loops from field evidence back into better behaviour. Make testing and commissioning something the team can repeat, not a one-off heroics exercise. Share what you learn: clear notes, teachable setups, and room for students and colleagues to build on your work. About 0–5 years of hands-on experience after your degree. Internships, thesis projects, Focus projects and paid project work count. This is an early-career project-staff role. A background in robotics, control, mechanical or electrical engineering, computer science, or equivalent practice. Depth in dynamics, estimation or control of physical systems. Evidence you have shipped behaviour on real robots (or comparable cyber-physical systems), not only simulation. Hands-on work is required, not optional: you write, run and debug software