Job Description

Imagine a world where food production harmonizes with natural processes, farmers nurture healthy soils, and biodiversity thrives. In contrast, current monoculture farming systems often undermine this future.

Can you see how Computer Vision and Embodied AI can open opportunities for autonomously operating agricultural robots? Are you passionate about making agriculture more sustainable? If you share our passion for technology and want to shape the direction of agricultural robotics research, you may be one of our two new Postdocs.

The Perception and Cognition for Autonomous Systems (PCAS) group at DTU Electro is seeking two highly motivated Postdocs to join our research team. Our group has an extensive track record in developing state-of-the-art computer vision, machine learning, and visual perception solutions implemented on mobile robots. Our mission is to advance Physical AI, creating intelligent systems that build rich 3D representations of their surroundings to support autonomous navigation, interaction, and decision-making in complex, unstructured environments.

Responsibilities and qualifications

The two Postdoc positions will focus on AI-based perception and autonomous mobile robot navigation for agriculture, contributing to the flagship projects AGROBOOST (funded by EU) and Robotic Intercropping (funded by Novo Nordisk Foundation). Working at the intersection of computer vision, embodied AI, and robotics, you will develop solutions that enable robots to operate safely and effectively in real-world field conditions.

We are looking for candidates who see themselves contributing to one or two of the following research areas; you are not expected to cover the entire list:

• Multi-Modal Sensor Fusion & 3D Scene Understanding: Advancing the integration of diverse modalities (RGB, LIDAR, stereo, and multi-spectral) to enable precise semantic and instance-level perception for agricultural scenes.
• Modular Autonomy Architectures & Trajectory Optimization: Developing modular software pipelines for localization and control, as well as investigating end-to-end learning for control to map raw perception directly to control signals.
• Foundation Models (VLMs, VLAs, & WAMs): Exploring the application of Vision-Language Models (VLMs) for semantic reasoning and Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models or World Action Models (WAMs) to represent 3D environments and plant growth dynamics for predictive planning.
• Robust Perception in the Wild: Developing algorithms that can model complex canopies and recognize unusual or novel situations to ensure adaptability to changing weather and environmental conditions.

You will be a vital part of a broader interdisciplinary research team, working in close collaboration with multiple PhD students and other postdocs working on similar topics. Your primary tasks will be:

• Conducting independent and collaborative research in 3D perception, spatial reasoning, and autonomous navigation.
• Implementing perception and navigation algorithms for real-time operation on edge computing devices aboard mobile robots.
• Publishing research findings in leading international computer vision and robotics venues (e.g., CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICRA, IROS, ICLR).
• Mentoring and co-supervising PhD, MSc, and BSc students within the research group.
• Participating in "Living Lab" field experiments to validate robotic solutions under real agricultural conditions.

As a formal qualification, you must hold a PhD degree (or equivalent) in computer science, electrical engineering, robotics, or a closely related field.

Selection criteria include:

• A strong background in computer vision and machine learning with a proven publication record in top-tier venues.
• Expertise in at least one or two of the core research areas listed above (e.g., 3D point cloud processing, multi-modal data fusion, or embodied AI).
• Proven software skills in Python and/or C++ and experience with deep learning frameworks like PyTorch.
• Experience with development tools such as Linux, Git, and Docker.
• Ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams and lead collaborative research efforts.

We offerDTU is a leading technical university globally recognized for the excellence of its research, education, innovation and scientific advice. We offer a rewarding and

challenging job in an international environment. We strive for academic excellence in an environment characterized by collegial respect and academic freedom tempered by responsibility.

Salary and terms of employment

The appointment will be based on the collective agreement with the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations. The allowance will be agreed upon with the relevant union.

The period of employment is 2 years. Starting date is 1 November 2026 or according to mutual agreement.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here

Further information

Further information may be obtained from Professor Lazaros Nalpantidis, +45 5162 1776, lanalpa@dtu.dk

You can read more about DTU Electro at www.electro.dtu.dk

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark

Application procedure

Your complete online application must be submitted no later than 1 September 2026 (23:59 Danish time) Applications must be submitted as one PDF file containing all materials to be given consideration. To apply, please open the link "Apply now", fill out the online application form, and attach all your materials in English in one PDF file The file must include:

• Application (cover letter)
• CV
• Academic Diplomas (MSc/PhD – in English)
• List of publications

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

DTU Electro has more than 300 employees with electrical and photonics engineering competencies. Research is performed within nanophotonics, lasers, quantum photonics, optical sensors, LEDs, photovoltaics, ultra-high speed optical transmission systems, bio-photonics, acoustics, power electronics, robotics, and autonomous systems.

DTU – For the benefit of society since 1829
DTU is one of Europe's leading elite technical universities. Through research and education at an international top level, we create solutions to the major societal challenges of our time and help secure Europe's global leadership in sustainable technological development. Since Hans Christian Ørsted founded DTU almost 200 years ago, our mission has remained the same: We develop and create value through the natural and technical sciences for the benefit of society. DTU has 13,800 students, 1,600 PhD students, and 6,500 employees. We work in an international environment and have an inclusive, stimulating, and informal work culture. DTU has campuses in all parts of Denmark and in Greenland and collaborates with the best universities around the world.