Associate Professor in Medical Robotics at SDU Robotics

To support our advancements in Bayesian machine learning for robotics applications in industrial manufacturing and medical diagnosisSDU Roboticsinvites applications for one or more associate professor position(s).The starting date will be in 2026and will be agreed with the successful workplace is at SDUs main campus in Odense Denmark and the work is expected to be primarily onsite.

What we offer

• An exciting opportunity to work at the cutting edge of robotics for real-world applications.
• A collaborative and supportive work environment that encourages innovation and creativity.
• Opportunities for professional growth and leadership.
• Access to state-of-the-art technology and resources.

Job description
The candidates will participate in activities of the unit including current and future research projects and teaching. This involves for example to:

• Be able to collaborate with our experts and colleagues from SDU Robotics in the further development of our core technologies.
• Be deeply involved in our regular coordination and joint evolvement of research and project activities.
• Raise funding and manage research projects.
• Design and conduct lab experiments.
• Participate in the practicalities of actual industrial applications.
• Organize plan and conduct excellent teaching for undergraduate and graduate courses.
• Independently supervise project courses and BSc MSc and PhD thesis projects.

The position as an associate professor involves primary responsibilities related to research (including the obligation to publish and disseminate scientific knowledge) and research-based teaching (including examination duties) research and teaching obligations equally. Additionally the role may encompass knowledge exchange with society including participation in public debates. Furthermore it may entail responsibilities such as research management curriculum development guidance supervision and scholarly assessment. The university determines the specific allocation of tasks and the emphasis on these tasks may vary over time.

Profile and requirements
The candidates will participate in SDU Robotics comprehensive research and theposition requires research experience within imitation learning and control for industrial or medical robotics applications. This includes documented knowledge within some of the following technologies/areas:

• Sensing technology for biomedical applications.
• Online estimation and adaptive control particularly force and compliance control for medical applications (e.g. needle insertion processing ultrasound scanning).
• Neural network and deep learning-based methods in the context of medical application.

The candidates must have a relevant PhD degree (or hold a PhD within robotics) and are expected to have most of the following qualifications:

• Research demonstrated by publications in relevant scientific journals and conferences.
• Experience in acquiring and coordinating publicly and/or privately funded projects.
• Strong track record of directly engaging with industrial partners in application-oriented projects and/or a relevant international network for research and collaboration activities.
• Experience with teaching andindependently supervising project courses and BSc and MSc thesis projects.

Preferably the candidates have experience with:

• Medical robotics
• Computer vision
• Experimental design and data analysis
• Simulation

Furthermore the successful candidate is expected to:

• Be able to work well and communicate expert knowledge in an interdisciplinary team.
• Have the ability of working independently.
• Have high self-motivation to learn.
• Have a strong sense of responsibility.
• Have excellent communication skills in English speaking and writing.

In the assessment of candidates consideration will be given to:

• Research demonstrated by publications in relevant scientific journals and conferences.
• Experience in interdisciplinary research collaboration.
• Teaching experience.
• A relevant international network for research and collaboration activities research experience abroad.
• Experience in attracting funding for research projects and demonstrated experience in research leadership.

Research environment
SDU Roboticsis involved in a variety of national and European projects and features a strong network of academic and industrial partners. We are a team of currently appr. 60 researchers and engineers specialized in research and development of robot solutions and advanced robot systems within the medical welfare and industrial domain.

SDU Robotics is part of theMaersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute University of Southern Denmark (SDU) and located at the main Campus in Odense at the core of theOdense Robotics Clusterinvolving 120 startups and established companies in robotics.

The aim of the group is to solve challenging research problems derived from real-life challenges by implementing novel robot solutions. We participate in implementing the achieved results in real solutions with end users like national hospitals Universal Robots LEGO and Novo Nordisk.

We value teamwork professional diligence enthusiasm for robotics and the drive to adopt new skills and extended responsibilities. We offer an open international team with flexible work organization and support for individual development.

We look forward to receiving your application and to supporting your growth as a researcher in SDU Robotics.

Further information
Further information about this position is available via email from professor Thiusius R. Savarimuthu.

Please visit us on LinkedIn: you experience technical problems please contactour email support.

Further informationfor international applicants about entering and working in Denmark. You may also visitWorkinDenmarkfor additional information.

Further informationabout The Faculty of Engineering.

Application procedure

Applicants are advised to read theSDU information on how to apply.

The application deadline isAugust 17 2026at 11:59 PM/23:59 (CET/CEST)

Assessment of the candidates is based on the application material and theapplication must include:

• A motivation letterthat clearly explains the applicants interest qualifications and motivation for the position (max. 2 pages).
• Detailed Curriculum Vitae including personal contact information.
• Research statementwith ideas for research and development activities (max. 4 pages).
• Masters and PhD degree certificates/diplomas (copy of original and in official English translation).
• Teaching Portfoliodocumenting teaching learning and supervision qualifications and format is acceptable; see theFacultys teaching portfolio pagefor inspiration.
• Complete list of publications.
• Publications most relevant for the position.
• References (names and emails) and/orreference letters may also be included.

A statement/documentation of other qualifications relevant to the position may also be included.

All documents must be in English and PDF format. CPR number (civil registration no.) must be crossed out. All PDF-files must be unlocked and allow binding and may not be password protected.

SUBMISSION GUIDE: Motivated application shall be uploaded under Cover letter (max. 5 MB) Curriculum Vitae shall be uploaded under Resume (max 5 MB). All other documents shall be uploaded under Miscellaneous documents (max 10 files of max 50 MB per file).

If you experience technical problems please contactour email support.

The University of Southern Denmark wishes to reflect the surrounding community and therefore encourages everyone regardless of personal background to apply for the position.

Assessment and selection process

Shortlisting may be applied and only shortlisted candidates will receive a written assessment.Read about shortlisting at will be assessed by an assessment committee. Interviews and tests may be part of the overall about theAssessment and selection process.

Employment and salary terms
Employment as an associate professor requires academic qualifications at PhD level as well as scientific and teaching qualifications commensurate with the position as an associate professor. Employment as associate professor is a permanent position.

The starting date will be in 2026and will be agreed with the successful workplace is at SDUs main campus in Odense Denmark and the work is expected to be primarily onsite.

Employment will be in accordance with the collective agreement between the Ministry of Finance and the Danish Confederation of Professional Associations for academics in the state with the associated circular on the protocol for the job structure for academic staff at Danish universities and the provisions for associate professor as described herein.

Salary is determined in accordance with the applicable collective agreement and based on objective and gender-neutral criteria including the content of the position responsibilities and qualification requirements. As an applicant you are entitled to information about the starting salary and salary range for the position. This information will be provided during the recruitment process. SDU does not collect information on applicants previous salary. Further information on salary and taxation.

People employed in the position may based on a specific individual managerial assessment be exempted from time registration also known as a self-organizer.

SDU conducts research in critical technologies which due to the risk of unwanted knowledge transfer are subject to a number of security measures. Therefore based on information from open sources background checks may be conducted on candidates for the position.