Postdoctoral Research Fellow Full-time

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

The School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver campus, is seeking a highly motivated Postdoctoral Research Fellow with a strong computer science or engineering background to lead the technical development and real-world implementation of autonomous mobile robot assistants in long-term care (LTC) settings.

Under the supervision of Dr. Lillian Hung, Canada Research Chair in Senior Care and Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia, the Fellow will contribute to a two-year collaborative research project focused on co-designing visual and auditory communication modalities that enable robots to clearly convey intent, actions, and decision logic to older adults, family caregivers, and healthcare staff. The project prioritizes technical robustness, usability, transparency, and workflow compatibility, ensuring robotic assistants can be responsibly and effectively integrated into everyday LTC care environments.

Research responsibilities will include:

• Develop and modify robot in collaboration with industry partner
• Refine robot communication and interaction systems (visual, auditory, multimodal)
• Integrate UX/UI features with autonomous mobile robot platforms
• Conduct usability testing, system evaluation, and iterative debugging in real-world settings
• Lead and support deployment of the robot in a LTC home
• Deliver technical training for staff and project partners
• Collect and analyze qualitative and quantitative data related to system performance and user interaction
• Contribute to technical documentation, academic publications, and knowledge translation activities
• Mentor graduate and undergraduate students working on technical components of the project

Candidate Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science, Engineering, Human–Computer Interaction, or a closely related field (completed within the past five years)
• The candidate will demonstrate evidence of strong research knowledge, skills and attitudes, an interest in the subject matter.
• The ideal background includes familiarity with UX/UI implementation for interactive systems (e.g., multimodal interfaces, visualization, audio feedback)

Salary, Benefits and Employment Conditions

The salary for this position will be $60,000 per year @ 1.0 FTE for a two-year term. This is a full-time position based on-site at UBC Vancouver campus (UBC Gateway Health Building).

Equity and diversity are essential to academic excellence. An open and diverse community fosters the inclusion of voices that have been underrepresented or discouraged. We encourage applications from members of groups that have been marginalized on any grounds enumerated under the B.C. Human Rights Code, including sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, racialization, disability, political belief, religion, marital or family status, age, and/or status as a First Nation, Metis, Inuit, or Indigenous person.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadians and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority.

Land Acknowledgement:

The School of Nursing at UBC gratefully acknowledge that our students, faculty, and staff gather on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish people, particularly the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) First Nations. In all our work, we are committed to enacting the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to upholding the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People, and to fostering Indigenous health and cultural safety.