PhD Candidate in generative AI for humanoid assistive robots

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at KTH

Project description

Third-cycle subject: Computer Science or Speech and Music Communication

We are seeking a doctoral student with an interest in generative AI, machine learning, natural language processing, and human-robot interaction. The doctoral student will work within a newly awarded project at the Department of Speech, Music and Hearing ( ?url=www.kth.se%2Ftmh&module=jobs&id=3214545" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">?url=www.kth.se%2Ftmh&module=jobs&id=3214545" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.kth.se/tmh ) at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) at KTH. TMH is an internationally recognized research environment in speech and language technology, with a particular focus on multimodal interaction with social robots. The newly launched Promobilia-funded project SAInt: Situated Agentic Interaction ( ?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.speech.kth.se%2Fsaint%2F&module=jobs&id=3214545" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.speech.kth.se%2Fsaint%2F&module=jobs&id=3214545" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">https://www.speech.kth.se/saint/ ) aims to develop and evaluate humanoid assistive robots capable of understanding context, learning through interaction, and providing proactive support. The goal is to contribute to reducing the care gap for older adults and people with special needs. Within the five-year project, the doctoral student will collaborate with researchers and doctoral students at the Department of Robotics, Perception and Learning ( ?url=www.kth.se%2Frpl&module=jobs&id=3214545" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">?url=www.kth.se%2Frpl&module=jobs&id=3214545" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">www.kth.se/rpl ). The overall objective of SAInt is to move beyond traditional robotics for support and assistance, which rely on explicit command structures, and instead develop agentic systems capable of contextual understanding, inferring user goals through natural multimodal communication, and collaborating proactively as an integrated part of everyday activities. The doctoral student’s task is to develop and evaluate a dialogue architecture that moves beyond reactive systems and enables the humanoid robot to understand user goals, actions, ongoing activities, and cognitive states, in order to determine when and how verbal and physical assistance should be provided.

Supervision: The doctoral student will be supervised by Prof. Joakim Gustafson.

Admission requirements

To be admitted to postgraduate education (Chapter 7, 39 § Swedish Higher Education Ordinance), the applicant must have basic eligibility in accordance with either of the following:

• passed a second cycle degree (for example a master’s degree), or
• completed course requirements of at least 240 higher education credits, of which at least 60 second-cycle higher education credits, or
• acquired, in some other way within or outside the country, substantially equivalent knowledge

In addition to the above, there is also a mandatory requirement for English equivalent to English B/6.

Selection

In order to succeed as a doctoral student at KTH you need to be goal oriented and persevering in your work. During the selection process, candidates will be assessed upon their ability to:

• independently pursue his or her work
• collaborate with others,
• have a professional approach and
• analyze and work with complex issues.

Applicants should have a Master degree (or similar) in a subject relevant for the research, such as computer science, language technology, human-machine interaction or cognitive science. Applicants are expected to have good skills in programming and experience in machine learning. Applicants must possess good levels of cooperative and communicative abilities. A good command of English, in writing and speaking, is a prerequisite and we expect applicants to have a strong interest in human language and communication.

After the qualification requirements, great emphasis will be placed on personal skills. 

Target degree: Doctoral degree

Information regarding admission and employment

Only those admitted to postgraduate education may be employed as a doctoral student. The total length of employment may not be longer than what corresponds to full-time doctoral education in four years’ time. An employed doctoral student can, to a limited extent (maximum 20%), perform certain tasks within their role, e.g. training and administration. A new position as a doctoral student is for a maximum of one year, and then the employment may be renewed for a maximum of two years at a time. 

As a doctoral student, you are entitled to a workplace with many employee benefits and monthly salary according to KTH’s Doctoral student salary agreement . Read more about Doctoral studies (PhD) Sweden .

Union representatives

Contact information for  union representatives.

Doctoral Students’network (Students’ union on KTH Royal Institute of Technology)

Contact information for  doctoral section .

To apply for the position

Apply for the position and admission through KTH’s recruitment system. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that the application is complete in accordance with the instructions in the advertisement.

Applications must be received at the last closing date at midnight, CET/CEST (Central European Time/Central European Summer Time).

Applications must include the following elements:

• Copies of diplomas and grades from previous university studies and certificates of fulfilled language requirements (see above) . Translations into English or Swedish if the original document is not issued in one of these languages.Copies of originals must be certified .
• CV including your relevant professional experience and knowledge.
• Application letter with a brief description of why you want to pursue research studies, about what your academic interests are and how they relate to your previous studies and future goals. (Maximum 2 pages long)
• Representative publications or technical reports. For longer documents, please provide a summary (abstract) and a web link to the full text.

Other information

For information about processing of personal data in the recruitment process.

It may be the case that a position at KTH is classified as a security-sensitive role in accordance with the Protective Security Act (2018:585). If this applies to the specific position, a security clearance will be conducted for the applicant in accordance with the same law with the applicant’s consent. In such cases, a prerequisite for employment is that the applicant is approved following the security clearance.

We firmly decline all contact with staffing and recruitment agencies and job ad salespersons.

Disclaimer: In case of discrepancy between the Swedish original and the English translation of the job announcement, the Swedish version takes precedence.

 

 

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Type of employment

Temporary position

Contract type

Full time

Full-time equivalent

100%

First day of employment

According to agreement

Salary

Monthly salary according to KTH’s doctoral student salary agreement

Number of positions

1

Location

Stockholm

County

Stockholms län

Country

Sweden

Reference number

PA-2026-0678

Published

12.Mar.2026

Last application date

20.Apr.2026

Contact

Joakim Gustafsson Professor, jkgukth.se

Lilly Engfeldt lillyekth.se