Opportunities

Interested in our research? (updated: December 2025)

Undergraduate: motivated students can be considered to join our team based on mutual interests and the availability of funding and projects:

Graduate and postgraduate: we do not currently have explicit openings. At this stage, only students with a scholarship/prospective scholarship and a strong background and alignment with the lab may be considered.

  • MASc and PhD [currently NOT considering international MASc]: please contact me directly only if you have already applied through the official Waterloo system, and indicate the Waterloo student ID you obtained from the application in the email. If you are a domestic (PR, Canadian citizen) applicant, if eligible, please apply for scholarships such as OGS and NSERC CGRS. If you are an international applicant, your application will be subject to available funding. Please specify in your email subject whether you are a domestic or international candidate and the program you are applying for [AIRLab Domestic/International MASc/PhD candidate], please note that this is not a guarantee that you will receive an answer, but if you did not use the correct header, your email will most likely be ignored.
  • Postdoc:
    • NEW opportunity [Application deadline: January 30th, endorsements due Feb. 17th]: CIRTA - Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards.
      • On December 9, 2025, the tri-agencies announced the launch of the Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards (CIRTA), which will provide 400 postdoctoral research awards across Canada valued at $70,000 per year for two years. To demonstrate our commitment to these scholars, all CIRTA postdocs will be eligible for the University extended health plan, with benefits costs covered by the institution.
        The Canada Impact+ Research Training Awards recognize and support international researchers at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels. By providing high‑quality training opportunities in priority fields, the program strives to attract global talent and strengthen Canada's research ecosystem.
      • Eligibility:
        • Nominees can be of any citizenship, including Canadian citizens, permanent residents and protected people
        • Nominees cannot have a current affiliation with a Canadian institution
        • Nominees must be currently studying or working abroad
      • More about eligibility and procedures here.
      • Submit your expression of interest here.
    • Current opening: currently looking for a Postdoc to work in the context of a collaboration project with industry partners on robot learning, more specifically on ML-based controllers that enable robots to learn complex manipulation tasks for manufacturing (with cobot arms) from fewer demonstrations and to maintain stable performance under certain variations (e.g. geometry). Essentially, improving learning from demonstration or similar methodologies using cobot arms and external sensing (e.g. camera, force sensors). The ideal candidate should have a solid background in robot control and robot learning/machine learning. 
      • Starting date and duration: April/May 2026 (Preferably), 2 years.
      • Location of the position: University of Waterloo, ON, Canada.
      • Qualifications requirements: a completed PhD degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related fields by the starting date.

      • Desired expertise: robot control (especially with arms such as Kinova, Franka Emika, KUKA), machine learning (e.g. deep learning, reinforcement learning) applied to robot control/robot learning, imitation learning/learning from demonstration. Experience with computer vision/image processing, sensor fusion/state estimation, teleoperation of robots, human-robot collaboration are nice to have but not strictly required.

      • Application procedure: please fill in the online form and upload the necessary documents within the form. Application form.
      • Application deadline: until filled. Applications will be screened as they come, the position will close as soon as a suitable candidate is identified.
      • Evaluation procedure: applications will be reviewed as they roll in, candidates located in Canada or who can relocate to Canada on a short notice (e.g. Canadian citizens, permanent residents, work permit holders) may be given priority at this time. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for interviews. Please allow at least one month time before inquiring about the status of your application.
    • If you are interested in joining the lab for a postdoc fellowship beyond the open opportunities, you may consult funding opportunities internal to Waterloo (deadlines, availabilities, and eligibility varies, please check), or if you are a domestic applicant (Canadian citizen or permanent resident), you may check the NSERC opportunities, if you are an European citizen or is eligible to apply for the Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship, you may check here to see if the program has open calls.
    • Additional information about becoming a Postdoc at Waterloo: https://uwaterloo.ca/graduate-studies-postdoctoral-affairs/welcome-postdoctoral-affairs 

Requirements

Candidates who wish to join the lab to perform a research project (undergraduate or graduate level) with at least two of the following expertise are preferred:

  • Knowledge of Linux based systems (especially Ubuntu)
  • Knowledge of Robotic Operating System (ROS/ROS 2)
  • Programming skills (Python/C++ are preferred)
  • Knowledge of version control (git: GitHub, Gitlab)
  • Basic knowledge of robotics (kinematic and dynamic modeling, control)

Contact Prof. Yue Hu if you are interested in any of the projects listed on this website or doing research in topics including (but not limited to): human-robot interaction, optimal control applied to robotics, collaborative robotics, humanoid robotics, and human motion analysis.