Research Assistant 2

Please refer to the How to Apply for a Job (for External Candidates) job aid for instructions on how to apply.

If you are an active McGill employee (ie: currently in an active contract or position at McGill University), do not apply through this Career Site. Login to your McGill Workday account and apply to this posting using the Find Jobs report (type Find Jobs in the search bar).

The Department of Mechanical Engineering seeks a full-time Research Assistant 2 to support a short-term project focused on Vision-Based Localization and Mapping for Autonomous Navigation in Mill Yard. Log-loading machines operating in mill yards are used to transport logs from mill yard piles to the infeed deck, to unload incoming log transport trucks and to manage the log inventory in the yard. It is expected that coarse navigation in the mill yard will be feasible with GPS: GPS-based navigation will enable localization accuracies within a few meters. To carry out these tasks autonomously, these machines need to have capabilities to localize and map their operational environment, in order to gain situational awareness. We have been working on vision-based semantic SLAM algorithms to imbue the log-loading machines with these capabilities.
 

The RA will continue and expand the work on this topic to further improve the semantic SLAM algorithms, to improve their performance and robustness and to allow their computation on edge devices.  In addition, we will explore the possibility of using LIDAR sensing to strengthen the semantic SLAM pipeline. The developed algorithms will be integrated with the perception pipeline developed by our industrial partner FPInnovations and tested in the field. 

Responsibilities

• Research potential improvements to the current semantic SLAM pipeline.

• Generalize the implementation of the pipeline to make it suitable for edge computation.

• Expand the capabilities of the semantic SLAM to allow for more diversity of objects in the mill yard.

• Validate the performance of the pipeline in real operating conditions

• Adhere to all lab safety practices and department policies.
 

Qualifications:

• Master's degree in robotics, specifically semantic SLAM for mill-yard environments.

• Proficiency with ROS2, IsaacSim, Python

• Knowledge of ML, DL and common vision-related libraries

Hourly Salary:

$31.44

Hours per Week:

35 (Full time)

Location:

Macdonald Eng. Bldg.

Supervisor:

Professor

Position Start Date:

2026-04-01

Position End Date:

2026-06-30

Deadline to Apply:

2026-03-16

This position is covered by the Association of McGill University Research Employees (AMURE) collective agreement.

McGill University hires on the basis of merit and is strongly committed to equity and diversity within its community. We welcome applications from racialized persons/visible minorities, women, Indigenous persons, persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, as well as from all qualified candidates with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. McGill implements an employment equity program and encourages members of designated groups to self-identify. Persons with disabilities who anticipate needing accommodations for any part of the application process may contact, in confidence, [email protected].