Always dreamed of doing a PhD in artificial intelligence and reinforcement learning? We are seeking a highly motivated student to join our group and work on cutting-edge reinforcement learning research!

In the context of our project, you will have the opportunity to advance reinforcement learning theory, contribute your own learning algorithm, and publish in top-tier journals and conferences. While we are particularly interested in candidates eager to explore off-policy learning, we highly encourage you to propose your own specific direction within the broader scope of reinforcement learning, as we are looking for independent thinkers!

The project is in collaboration with two leading figures in the field:

• Martha White from the University of Alberta (one of the authors of Off-Policy Actor-Critic, which laid the foundation for PPO, SAC, and TD3 architectures)
• Carlo d’Eramo from the University of Würzburg (a leading researcher in multitask reinforcement learning and the designer of mushroom-rl).

What we offer:

• Inclusion in the Intelligent Interactive System lab, a large, international research laboratory https://iis.uibk.ac.at/ https://iis.uibk.ac.at/people focused on solving robot learning challenges
• Be part of a wide network of collaboration: we value research collaborations highly. You will have the possibility to connect with several large research laboratories across Europe and Canada that work on reinforcement learning and robot learning (e.g., RLAI, IAS, AIRLab, ALR, CAIDAS, …). Furthermore, you will join a yearly workshop organized by Prof. Jan Peters and attended by 100+ robot learning researchers from across Europe – a huge networking opportunity!
• You will have access to large-scale clusters for scientific computing (such as LEO5 and IFI-Cluster at the University of Innsbruck, VSC, and Musica) and powerful local machines.
• You can work with robots such as Emika-Franka Panda and Unitree A1, and use motion capture systems (i.e., OptiTrack).
• Last but not least: Innsbruck is an amazing city surrounded by fantastic nature, 30 minutes away from the borders to Germany and Italy, and with an international airport that connects to major European destinations.

Required Skills

• Rigorous background in machine learning, ideally with a focus on RL or numerical optimization
• Fluency in mathematics
• Excellent programming skills
• Analytic problem-solving and communication skills
• Fluency in spoken and written English

Apply Now!

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. For full consideration, please submit your application by the 30th of April 2026.