Senior Research Scientist – Machine Learning 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.

The position

We’re looking for a highly experienced and exceptionally talented senior scientist in machine learning and robotics to spearhead and expand our robotic learning research.

In this role, you will be central to advancing the state of the art in robot learning, including the development of foundation models and their application to robotics. This position requires a proven track record of scientific leadership and the ability to guide high-impact research teams. You will be expected to pilot and contribute to pioneering breakthroughs that tackle and solve complex, real-world challenges with scalable and trustworthy solutions.

About the research team

Robotic Learning research at NAVER LABS Europe focuses on equipping mobile manipulators with general-purpose learning systems. Our goal is to enable these systems to perform a wide range of complex physical tasks with safety, robustness and adaptability. Our learning frameworks are built on multimodal foundation models, enabling multi-level sequential reasoning, continual self-improvement and integration of diverse sensor modalities across varied real-world environments. The research spans the entire pipeline—from algorithm and method development to real-world deployment—with a strong emphasis on practical implementation with a commitment to translating fundamental research into impactful applications beyond the laboratory.

This work is conducted in close collaboration with other teams within NAVER LABS in Europe and Korea and with leading academic institutions. Our contributions are regularly published in top-tier venues such as NeurIPS, CVPR, ICLR, ICML, ICRA and IROS.

What we're looking for (depending on your career stage)

Candidates should have a strong scientific background, practical experience and leadership capabilities in AI for robotics. The qualifications, skill and experience include:

• PhD in robotics, machine learning or related field.
• Extensive professional experience in AI for robotics with a track record of impactful contributions.
• Demonstrated ability to recruit, mentor and lead high-performing research teams.
• Strong working knowledge of computer vision, natural language processing (NLP), and/or multimodal models.
• Expert-level programming skills, particularly in Python and PyTorch.
• Hands-on experience developing and deploying deep learning systems.
• Proven experience conducting real-world robotic experiments.
• Familiarity with physics-based simulators such as Isaac Sim or NVIDIA Omniverse.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.
• A proven record of research excellence in publications in top-tier conferences and journals such as:
  • Robotics: RSS, ICRA, IROS
  • Machine learning: NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR
  •  Computer vision: CVPR, ICCV, ECCV

What we offer

• Ambitious, multidisciplinary projects with experienced international research teams (30 years research in AI and related fields).

• Flexible work/life balance.

• An equal opportunity employer committed to diversity and inclusion.

• A great location that blends urban life, technology and nature with stunning views of the Alpine mountain ranges (Belledonne, Chartreuse, Vercors).

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.

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