Postdoctoral Fellow - Multiple Positions Available

Overview

Georgia Tech prides itself on its technological resources, collaborations, high-quality student body, and its commitment to building an outstanding and diverse community of learning, discovery, and creation. We strongly encourage applicants whose values align with our institutional values, as outlined in our Strategic Plan. These values include academic excellence, diversity of thought and experience, inquiry and innovation, collaboration and community, and ethical behavior and stewardship. Georgia Tech has policies to promote a healthy work-life balance and is aware that attracting faculty may require meeting the needs of two careers.

About Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech is a top-ranked public research university situated in the heart of Atlanta, a diverse and vibrant city with numerous economic and cultural strengths. The Institute serves more than 45,000 students through top-ranked undergraduate, graduate, and executive programs in engineering, computing, science, business, design, and liberal arts. Georgia Tech's faculty attracted more than $1.4 billion in research awards this past year in fields ranging from biomedical technology to artificial intelligence, energy, sustainability, semiconductors, neuroscience, and national security. Georgia Tech ranks among the nation's top 20 universities for research and development spending and No. 1 among institutions without a medical school.

Georgia Tech's Mission and Values

Georgia Tech's mission is to develop leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition. The Institute has nine key values that are foundational to everything we do:

1. Students are our top priority.
2. We strive for excellence.
3. We thrive on diversity.
4. We celebrate collaboration.
5. We champion innovation.
6. We safeguard freedom of inquiry and expression.
7. We nurture the wellbeing of our community.
8. We act ethically.
9. We are responsible stewards.

Over the next decade, Georgia Tech will become an example of inclusive innovation, a leading technological research university of unmatched scale, relentlessly committed to serving the public good; breaking new ground in addressing the biggest local, national, and global challenges and opportunities of our time; making technology broadly accessible; and developing exceptional, principled leaders from all backgrounds ready to produce novel ideas and create solutions with real human impact.

About The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering

The H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE) is the largest and most prominent program of its kind in the world, known for its leadership in human-centered systems, analytics, and manufacturing. The George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering (ME) is consistently ranked among the nation's best, with strengths in robotics, automation, and smart systems. The Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI) serves as a cross-campus hub for advanced manufacturing R&D, workforce development, and industry-academic partnerships, offering postdocs a rich ecosystem for impactful translational research.

Atlanta, GA

The Symbiotic and Augmented Intelligence Laboratory (SAIL) at Georgia Tech invites applications for 1-2 full-time postdoctoral researcher positions in XR, HCI, and IoT-integrated intelligent systems for human-machine teaming in manufacturing. We are seeking technically proficient, hands-on researchers who combine deep expertise in XR and HCI with strong implementation skills in Unity development, programming, and sensor integration; and who are eager to apply these technologies across a variety of industrial contexts to enhance worker learning, performance, and well-being.

Postdoctoral fellows will contribute to leading development and research efforts across two primary projects: (1) A state-of-the-art VR-based manufacturing safety training system, incorporating real-time feedback, dialogue systems, and interactive learning assessments. (2) Novel IoT-integrated XR systems for context-aware task guidance, human-machine interaction, and adaptive interfaces in manufacturing workflows. These positions will be housed in ISyE but the team will collaborate closely with researchers across Georgia Tech, especially in ME, GTMI, and Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility and with external industry partners such as Georgia Quick Start.

Work Environment

Postdoctoral researchers will join a dynamic, interdisciplinary team spanning Industrial and Systems Engineering (ISyE), Mechanical Engineering (ME), and the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute (GTMI). They will be deeply embedded in ongoing collaborations with leading industry partners -including Georgia Quick Start- and will gain hands-on exposure to advanced manufacturing technologies through active involvement at the Advanced Manufacturing Pilot Facility (AMPF). This position is ideally suited for researchers who wish to bridge rigorous academic inquiry with the design, implementation, and validation of real-world, high-impact systems in industrial settings.

• Lead the design, implementation, and evaluation of interactive XR training systems using Unity.
• Architect and develop XR-IoT pipelines integrating sensors, data streams, and contextual feedback for real-time guidance.
• Design and run human-subjects experiments, including IRB preparation, protocol development, data collection, and statistical analysis.
• Apply principles from HCI, cognitive psychology, learning sciences, and ergonomics to evaluate system effectiveness and usability.
• Collaborate with faculty, students, and external partners on iterative system design and testing in real-world industrial scenarios.
• Disseminate results via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, and technical reports.
• Contribute to grant writing, research proposals, and long-term research roadmap development.
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students on XR/HCI development and experimentation.

An earned doctorate is required by the start of the appointment.

• Experience with context-aware systems, real-time data processing, or sensor fusion
• Familiarity with machine learning pipelines for lightweight inference on edge devices
• Experience in learning science, adult skill acquisition, or safety-critical domains
• Prior involvement in applied industrial research, particularly in manufacturing or workforce training.
• Experience working on federally funded projects or supporting proposal development.
• Strong Unity development skills, including proficiency in C# scripting, XR Interaction Toolkit, OpenXR, and performance optimization.
• Demonstrated experience in building and deploying VR/AR/XR systems.
• Hands-on experience with sensing technologies, IoT integration, or system-level prototyping
• Deep understanding of HCI methods, including experimental design, usability testing, and task analysis
• Proven track record of publishing research in top-tier venues
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Ability to work in fast-paced, cross-disciplinary teams with academic and industry collaborators.

Applicants should submit the following materials in a single PDF:

• letter of application;
• curriculum vitae;
• research proposal (up to two pages, not including references and citations);
• letter from an ISyE faculty member (other than your Ph.D. dissertation advisor if you are currently a student in ISyE) indicating their commitment to serve as your primary mentor;
• personal statement (up to one page, describing your personal background and your prior contributions and future plans related to the values described in the Job Responsibilities paragraph above);
• thesis abstract (up to one page);
• writing sample (sample publication or paper, max. 35 pages not including references and citations);
• names and contact information for three references. Make sure your references are included in the required attachments.

Requests for information may be directed to ISyE Associate Professor, Dr. Mohsen Moghaddam, at mohsen.moghaddam@gatech.edu

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 26 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section8/C224/#p8.2.18_personnel_conduct.

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/C2653.

The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer. The University is committed to maintaining a fair and respectful environment for all. To that end, and in accordance with federal and state law, Board of Regents policy, and University policy, Georgia Tech provides equal opportunity to all faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including applicants for admission and/or employment, contractors, volunteers, and participants in institutional programs, activities, or services. Georgia Tech complies with all applicable laws and regulations governing equal opportunity in the workplace and in educational activities.

Georgia Tech prohibits discrimination, including discriminatory harassment, on the basis of race, ethnicity, ancestry, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, age, disability, genetics, or veteran status in its programs, activities, employment, and admissions. This prohibition applies to faculty, staff, students, and all other members of the Georgia Tech community, including affiliates, invitees, and guests. Further, Georgia Tech prohibits citizenship status, immigration status, and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, and recruitment, except where such restrictions are required in order to comply with law, regulation, executive order, or Attorney General directive, or where they are required by Federal, State, or local government contract.

More information on these policies can be found here: https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/c2714 Board of Regents Policy Manual | University System of Georgia (usg.edu).

The candidate of choice will be required to pass a pre-employment background screening. http://policylibrary.gatech.edu/employment/pre-employment-screening.