Postdoctoral Researcher in Multisensory Cognitive Architectures for Social Robots

Postdoctoral Researcher in Multisensory Cognitive Architectures for Social Robots

Italy

Commitment & contract: fixed-term contract for 18 months

Location: Genoa, Italy - Center for Human Technologies ( )

Project: SINTESI Azione 1.1.2 “SINTESI” Sistemi cyber-fisici INTElligenti e SIcuri per la sanità, l'industria e la società- CUP B99H - Progetti PN Ricerca, Innovazione e Competitività 2021–2027 (PN RIC 2021–2027)- Decreto Direttoriale n. 307 del - MI 962 Comunicazione adozione decreto dirigenziale n. 780 del 03/03/2026

Step into a world of endless possibilities, together let’s leave something for the future

At IIT, we are committed to advancing human-centered Science and Technology to address the most urgent societal challenges of our era. We foster excellence in both fundamental and applied research, spanning fields such as neuroscience and cognition, humanoid technologies and robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, and material sciences, offering a truly interdisciplinary scientific experience. Our approach integrates cutting-edge tools and technology, empowering researchers to push the limits of knowledge and innovation. With us, your curiosity will know no bounds.

We are dedicated to providing equal employment opportunities and fostering diversity in all its forms, creating an inclusive environment. We value the unique experiences, knowledge, backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives of our people. By embracing diversity, we believe science can achieve its fullest potential.

THE ROLE

You will be working in a multicultural and multi-disciplinary group, where junior and senior scientists collaborate, each with their expertise, to carry out a scientific activity with a shared research goal.

The position will be jointly hosted by the Cognitive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies (CONTACT) Research Unit, coordinated by Alessandra Sciutti, and the Computational Statistics and Machine Learning (CSML) Research Unit, led by Massimiliano Pontil. The research investigates the sensory, motor and cognitive foundations of human social interaction and combines them with advanced machine learning methods to develop transparent, adaptable and socially aware robotic systems. Within the SINTESI project, the teams will develop ARCOBOT, a modular, multisensory cognitive architecture for social robots that integrates visual, auditory and proprioceptive information, sensorimotor processes and multimodal memory to support effective human-robot interaction and learning from people.

Within the research team, your main responsibilities will be:

• Design and develop modular components for multisensory perception, sensorimotor integration, action and multimodal memory in social robots
• Implement and integrate bio-inspired and data-driven models within a coherent cognitive robotics architecture
• Design, conduct and analyse experiments in social and collaborative interaction scenarios, including teaching and learning tasks
• Contribute to system integration, demonstrator development, scientific publications, technical reporting and technology-