AI4I is expanding its scientific community with two new opportunities within the Physical Holistic Intelligence (PHI) Lab, led by Leonel Rozo.

The PHI Lab focuses on advancing foundational models for robotics and smart factories, bridging physics, geometry, and artificial intelligence to develop the next generation of physical intelligence. Its mission is to design AI systems that are not only more powerful, but also more robust, explainable, and directly applicable to industrial contexts.

Postdoctoral Research Positions in Geometry & Physics in Foundational Models for Robotics

 

Ever wonder if foundational models could understand the world with the theoretical principles of a physicist or a geometer? We do.

The PHI lab is looking for a creative and highly motivated Postdoc/Research Scientist to join our team and help us build the next generation of physical AI that is not just bigger, but fundamentally smarter, more robust, and explainable.

Forget just scaling up. Our goal is to weave the principles of differential geometry, control theory and physics directly into the core of foundational models. You will be at the center of this, shaping how foundational models for physical systems, like robots, perceive and interact with the world.

What you’ll get to work on:

This isn’t your average AI gig. You’ll be pioneering research to:

• Re-imagine attention: Design novel foundational models that are inherently aware of physics, leverage control theory, and exploit Riemannian geometries. Think of it as giving models a “physical and geometric intuition.”
• Explore curved latent spaces: Investigate how non-Euclidean geometries can help models create richer, more meaningful representations of complex, multimodal data.

Where are you going to apply your cool research? We are considering the following applications (among many others)

• Single or dual-arm robotic manipulation for smart factories
• Safe human-robot collaboration
• Next-gen digital twins and world models for robotics

This role is probably for you if:

• You hold a PhD in AI, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• You have solid experience with foundational models, especially applied in robotics and control.
• You are comfortable with physics-informed NNs or applied differential geometry. (Serious bonus points if you love thinking about Riemannian manifolds!)
• You are a pro with Python and have hands-on experience training and fine-tuning large-scale models.
• You have a strong publication record in top-tier venues (ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, CoRL, RSS, T-RO, etc.).

What we offer:

• A team: You will be surrounded by a super-smart and creative team of researchers and engineers who are as passionate about AI, robotics and math as you are. We thrive on collaboration and big ideas. We will help you grow as a researcher!
• Wide impact: You will publish. You will have the chance to lead and co-author papers for top-tier conferences like NeurIPS, ICML, CoRL, and R:SS.
• Networking: Besides our agreements with Italian universities, AI4I has cooperation agreements with IIT, Leonardo, CINECA, among many others. You will have many opportunities to build and grow your network.
• An office at the epicenter of tech: Our home base is at OGR Torino, the city’s coolest tech and innovation hub. You are not just getting a desk; you are getting a front-row seat to Italy’s tech scene, with endless events, meetups, and creative people right outside your door.
• An unbeatable lifestyle in Turin: Seriously, this city is amazing. Imagine weekends hiking in the Alps, sipping some of the world’s best coffee and wine, and enjoying incredible food. You are a quick train ride from Milan for a city fix or the Mediterranean coast for a beach day.
• The essentials, covered: Of course, we offer a competitive salary and provide travel support for conferences, schools and tech events. Moreover, you will have access to high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure.

If you’re passionate about building principled, impactful physical AI and want to see your work come to life in the real world, we’d love to chat.

Sound like fun? Apply now and let’s build the future together!

Start Date: Flexible, as soon as possible.

Application requirements:

• Cover letter (max.1 page) describing how your profile fits this specific positionand proposing a research project according to your professional goals within the topics of this call.
• CV with publications and open-source projects portfolio.