Role Description
We are looking for a Master’s student to conduct their thesis project within our prototyping and applied systems team, contributing to applied research in Human–Robot Interaction, with a strong emphasis on interactive systems, prototyping, and empirical evaluation.
In this role, you will work closely with researchers and engineers to explore how humans interact with semi-autonomous systems, and how control, feedback, and sensing can be designed to enable safe, effective, and intuitive operation. The focus is on applied neuroadaptive scenarios: building real prototypes, running experiments, and evaluating behavior in realistic settings.
This position is ideal for someone interested in HRI/HCI as a systems-driven discipline, spanning interaction design, implementation, experimentation, and analysis.
The intention is to align the role with a Master’s thesis, depending on topic fit and supervision availability.
**What you will do**
* Design, build, and iterate on a prototype for human-in-the-loop and shared-control scenarios
* Work with engineers to develop control interfaces, sensing pipelines, and experimental infrastructure
* Plan and conduct a user study and system evaluation
* Analyze experimental data and help translate results into a report, demo, and research artifact
* Collaborate with researchers and engineers across rapid prototyping and iteration cycles
**What we offer**
* Hands-on experience across the full arc of applied research
* Close collaboration with experienced BCI researchers
* A pragmatic, low-hierarchy environment with room to take ownership
* Flexible scheduling around exams and coursework
* Currently enrolled in a Master’s program in Computer Science, Robotics, Cognitive Science or a related technical field
* Solid understanding of, or strong interest in, state-of-the-art robotic control and manipulation policies, and motivation to advance them through applied, efficient system work
* Programming skills (e.g. Python, RoS, or similar) and experience working with complex software systems
* Comfortable working with open-ended research problems and incomplete specifications
* Availability for 20 hours/week during the employment period (April/May–September/October 2026\)
**Nice to have**
* Hands-on experience with robotic systems or control software through coursework, lab projects, or prior work
* Prior experience with user studies, experimental design, or statistical analysis
* Familiarity with signal processing, ML, or data science workflows
* Previous contributions to research projects or publications
* Interest in or exposure to brain-computer interface (BCI) technology