Research Project Manager - Kumar Lab - Penn Engineering

University of Pennsylvania

18d

About The Position

The Research Project Manager in the Kumar Lab in Penn Engineering will conceptualize and develop novel robotics research projects in the field of metric-semantic mapping, semantics-driven active exploration, and foundation models-aided intelligent decision systems, with an additional objective of translating these techniques to further augment agriculture and forestry robotics research. Deliver novel research as publishable research articles and also help write research proposals and reports. Supervise, educate, and support students in projects and help coordinate workflows. Assure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and procedures.

Requirements

Master’s Degree in optimization and control theory or highly related topics and 1 – 2 years of related experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Computer scientist or engineer who is interested in creating/developing a Unity-based simulation environment that will allow realistic simulations of multiple full-stack aerial and ground robots including 3-D geometry, physics and sensor data.
The job requires basic understanding of robot control techniques, dockerization mechanisms, and scripting.
Experience with ROS, Python, C++, Docker and YAML scripts is necessary.
The candidate will also conduct research in the broad area of autonomous multi-agent systems, write reports and articles, and mentor incoming undergraduate and graduate students.
Demonstrated writing skills.

Responsibilities

Conceptualize and develop research projects for the Internet of Things for Precision Agriculture (IoT4AG) research grant
Develop novel semantic mapping algorithms in the field of agricultural and forestry robotics to promote crop yield and silviculture.
Deploy algorithms on board robot platforms and hence support robotics field experiments in orchards and forests.
Lead bi-weekly research update meetings to discuss ongoing project progress and workshop new ideas.
Deliver results in the form of a publishable research article.
Contribute to the development of a robust autonomous multi-robot mapping and planning stack.
Investigate current limitations in intelligent autonomous mapping and planning and subsequently augment the stack with improved capabilities such as robust autonomous semantic exploration.
Test new capabilities on board robots platforms and conduct field experiments to verify success.
Investigate the latest foundation models in robotics literature and implement suitable algorithms to augment the current stack.
Help write research articles and reports on novel findings.
Contribute to the development and maintenance of the lab’s infrastructure, including robot platforms and the design of simulators for experiments
Participate in the implementation, maintenance, code refactoring, and open sourcing of the lab’s code bases

Benefits

Health, Life, and Flexible Spending Accounts: Penn offers comprehensive medical, prescription, behavioral health, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits to protect you and your family’s health and welfare. You can also use flexible spending accounts to pay for eligible health care and dependent care expenses with pre-tax dollars.
Tuition: Take advantage of Penn's exceptional tuition benefits. You, your spouse, and your dependent children can get tuition assistance here at Penn. Your dependent children are also eligible for tuition assistance at other institutions.
Retirement: Penn offers generous retirement plans to help you save for your future. Penn’s Basic, Matching, and Supplemental retirement plans allow you to save for retirement on a pre-tax or Roth basis. Choose from a wide variety of investment options through TIAA and Vanguard.
Time Away from Work: Penn provides you with a substantial amount of time away from work during the course of the year. This allows you to relax, take vacations, attend to personal affairs, recover from illness or injury, spend time with family—whatever your personal needs may be.
Long-Term Care Insurance: In partnership with Genworth Financial, Penn offers faculty and staff (and your eligible family members) long-term care insurance to help you cover some of the costs of long-term care services received at home, in the community or in a nursing facility. If you apply when you’re newly hired, you won’t have to provide proof of good health or be subject to underwriting requirements. Eligible family members must always provide proof of good health and are subject to underwriting.
Wellness and Work-life Resources: Penn is committed to supporting our faculty and staff as they balance the competing demands of work and personal life. That’s why we offer a wide variety of programs and resources to help you care for your health, your family, and your work-life balance.
Professional and Personal Development: Penn provides an array of resources to help you advance yourself personally and professionally.
University Resources: As a member of the Penn community, you have access to a wide range of University resources as well as cultural and recreational activities. Take advantage of the University’s libraries and athletic facilities, or visit our arboretum and art galleries. There’s always something going on at Penn, whether it’s a new exhibit at the Penn Museum, the latest music or theater presentation at the Annenberg Center, or the Penn Relays at Franklin Field to name just a few examples. As a member of the Penn community, you’re right in the middle of the excitement—and you and your family can enjoy many of these activities for free.
Discounts and Special Services: From arts and entertainment to transportation and mortgages, you'll find great deals for University faculty and staff. Not only do Penn arts and cultural centers and museums offer free and discounted admission and memberships to faculty and staff. You can also enjoy substantial savings on other goods and services such as new cars from Ford and General Motors, cellular phone service plans, movie tickets, and admission to theme parks.
Flexible Work Hours: Flexible work options offer creative approaches for completing work while promoting balance between work and personal commitments. These approaches involve use of non-traditional work hours, locations, and/or job structures.
Penn Home Ownership Services: Penn offers a forgivable loan for eligible employees interested in buying a home or currently residing in West Philadelphia, which can be used for closing costs or home improvements.
Adoption Assistance: Penn will reimburse eligible employees on qualified expenses in connection with the legal adoption of an eligible child, such as travel or court fees, for up to two adoptions in your household.