Robotics Engineer Working on High TRL Soft Robots

Join TU Delft as a Robotics Engineer Working on High TRL Soft Robots

We’re looking for a motivated Robotics Engineer with a Master’s in Robotics, Computer Science, or Mechanical Engineering to help bring our soft robotic manipulator closer to real-world deployment.

Job description

We are looking for a motivated and skilled Robotics Engineer to join our research group at TU Delft. The position focuses on increasing the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of a soft robotic manipulator developed in our lab. This work bridges fundamental research and real-world deployment, making it central to our ambition to build practically useful intelligent soft robots.

You will work in a multidisciplinary team that combines expertise in soft robotics, nonlinear control, learning, and mechanical design. You will play a key role in integrating hardware and software components, refining control strategies, and supporting the development of high-TRL prototypes. You will contribute both to the technical realization of demonstrators and to the underlying system architecture, working closely with PhD students, academic staff, and industrial partners.

This position is ideal for someone who enjoys hands-on work, iterative prototyping, and translating research into robust solutions.

Job requirements

• Master’s degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Solid experience in building and testing robotic systems.
• Proficiency in C++ and/or Python for robotic control and integration
• Experience with ROS and/or embedded programming is a strong plus
• Familiarity with soft robotics or compliant mechanisms is appreciated but not strictly required
• Ability to work collaboratively in a research environment with students and external partners
• Good command of English (spoken and written)

TU Delft (Delft University of Technology)

Delft University of Technology is built on strong foundations. As creators of the world-famous Dutch waterworks and pioneers in biotech, TU Delft is a top international university combining science, engineering and design. It delivers world class results in education, research and innovation to address challenges in the areas of energy, climate, mobility, health and digital society. For generations, our engineers have proven to be entrepreneurial problem-solvers, both in business and in a social context.

At TU Delft we embrace diversity as one of our core values and we actively engage to be a university where you feel at home and can flourish. We value different perspectives and qualities. We believe this makes our work more innovative, the TU Delft community more vibrant and the world more just. Together, we imagine, invent and create solutions using technology to have a positive impact on a global scale. That is why we invite you to apply. Your application will receive fair consideration.

Challenge. Change. Impact!

Faculty Mechanical Engineering

From chip to ship. From machine to human being. From idea to solution. Driven by a deep-rooted desire to understand our environment and discover its underlying mechanisms, research and education at the ME faculty focusses on fundamental understanding, design, production including application and product improvement, materials, processes and (mechanical) systems.

ME is a dynamic and innovative faculty with high-tech lab facilities and international reach. It’s a large faculty but also versatile, so we can often make unique connections by combining different disciplines. This is reflected in ME’s outstanding, state-of-the-art education, which trains students to become responsible and socially engaged engineers and scientists. We translate our knowledge and insights into solutions to societal issues, contributing to a sustainable society and to the development of prosperity and well-being. That is what unites us in pioneering research, inspiring education and (inter)national cooperation.

Conditions of employment

• Duration of contract is 9 months Temporary
• A job of 38-40 hours per week.
• A salary based on Schaal 10 of the CAO for Dutch Universities with a salary between €3378 - €5331 gross per month based on a fulltime contract (38 hours), plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%.
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP.
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year.
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages.
• Flexible working week.
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget.
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses.
• Partially paid parental leave
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program.

Additional information

If you would like more information about this vacancy or the selection procedure, please contact Cosimo Della Santina, via recruitment-me@tudelft.nl.