Research scientist in AI for Robotics F/M

About NAVER LABS Europe

NAVER LABS Europe is part of the R&D division of NAVER, Korea’s leading Internet portal and a global tech company with a range of services that include search, commerce, content, fintech, robotics and cloud.

About the team

The Spatial AI team at NAVER LABS Europe conducts research on AI for robotics and spatially aware agents. Our work is motivated by challenging real-world robotics problems and we are currently building the next generation of agents capable of robust high-level reasoning in complex real-world environments.

One of the team’s research directions focuses on AI for manipulation and mobile manipulation. We develop systems that learn through interaction, acquiring diverse, whole-body, contact-rich skills to tackle complex long-horizon tasks. We combine a passion for robotics and its unique problems with an understanding of (and experience in) large-scale machine learning, deep learning and generalization.

Through close collaborations with computer vision and robotics teams across NAVER LABS, researchers have the opportunity to connect fundamental research questions with real operational problems. This creates a unique environment to pursue ambitious research directions, publish in leading conferences, and contribute to emerging AI-driven robotics services.

The position

We encourage early-career researchers and recent PhD graduates to apply.

Responsibilities :

• Conduct research on machine learning approaches for robotics.
• Develop new models and algorithms in robotics, perception (computer vision) and sequential decision taking.
• Design and implement prototypes and proof-of-concept systems to evaluate new ideas and algorithmic approaches.
• Run and analyze large-scale experiments both in simulation and on real robotics platforms with a hands-on approach.
• Contribute to publications in leading conferences and journals in machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision and robotics.

What we're looking for

Required qualifications

• PhD in machine learning, robotics, computer vision, or a related field.
• Strong background in machine learning and AI for robotics.
• Excellent programming skills in Python and experience with deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
• Experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating machine learning models, especially policies for robotics tasks (manipulation, navigation, mobile manipulation, etc.).
• Experience with large-scale experiments, simulation environments, or real-world robotics environments.
• Strong interest in research problems and, importantly, their application to real life industrial scenarios.
• Ability to work collaboratively in multidisciplinary research environments.
• Publications in leading conferences in machine learning, artificial intelligence, computer vision or robotics (e.g., NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, CVPR, ICCV/ECCV, IROS, ICRA).

Preferred qualifications

• Experience with deep reinforcement learning.
• A solid background in the fundamentals of robotics (e.g. kinematics and dynamics, control, path planning and physics simulation).

Team Publications

•        Reasoning in visual navigation of end-to-end trained agents (CVPR 2025)

•        End-to-End Image goal navigation (ICLR 2025)

•        DOCIR: Disentangled Object-Centric Image Representation for Robotic Manipulation (IROS 2025)

•        Kinaema: a recurrent sequence model for memory and pose in motion (NeuRIPS 2025)

What we offer

• We foster a collaborative environment dedicated to ambitious, multidisciplinary projects that translate advanced research into impactful, real-world solutions, supported by 30+ years of experience in AI and related fields.
• Flexible work/life balance.

• We are an equal opportunity employer that hires based on skills, experience, and merit. We foster an inclusive and diverse workplace where all qualified candidates are considered fairly, regardless of background.

• We’re based in Meylan, close to Grenoble, a city that offers the perfect balance of urban life, cutting-edge research and technology, and spectacular mountain landscapes that provide countless opportunities to relax, recharge, and enjoy the outdoors.

All applications will be carefully considered, even if not all required skills are met. We value diverse backgrounds and the potential of each candidate, and we offer training to support the development of necessary skills.

NAVER LABS, co-located in Korea and France, is the organization dedicated to preparing NAVER’s future. Scientists at NAVER LABS Europe are empowered to pursue long-term research problems that, if successful, can have significant impact and transform NAVER. We take our ideas as far as research can to create the best technology of its kind. Active participation in the academic community and collaborations with world-class public research groups are, among others, important ways to achieve these goals. Teamwork, focus and persistence are important values for us.

 When applying for this position online, please don't forget to upload your CV and cover letter. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

NAVER LABS Europe is subject to French jurisdiction requiring organisations to stipulate that a job/internship is open to both women and men. None of our jobs/internships are gender specific.

References

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