Scientist (AI and Autonomy)

VACANCY NOTICE Scientist (AI and Autonomy) - G15 & G11 (2 positions, 261040 - 261041)

Primary Location: Italy-La Spezia NATO Body: Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) Schedule: Full-time Application Deadline: 12 July 2026 Salary (Pay Basis) G15: 5,879.80 EUR (Monthly) Salary (Pay Basis) G11: 4,584.89 EUR (Monthly) Grade NATO SSS Grade G15-G11 (ABCL A2-A1) Clearance Level NS

1. POST CONTEXT This is a position within the Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE), an organization of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). CMRE is an established, world-class scientific research and experimentation facility that organizes and conducts scientific research and technology development, centred on the maritime domain, delivering innovative and field tested Science & Technology (S&T) solutions to address defence and security needs of the Alliance. The position is within the Research Division (RD) which is responsible for identifying, developing and delivering Science & Technology (S&T) solutions to the needs of the Alliance in the maritime domain. The Division leads the development of CMRE’s scientific strategy and through its capability in ocean sensing, numerical modelling, big data analytics, artificial intelligence and autonomy, delivers the Centre’s S&T goals while maintaining CMRE’s reputation within the scientific community. The Research Division is comprised of the five following Branches: • Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) • Autonomous Naval Mine Warfare (ANMW) • Environmental Knowledge and Operational Effectiveness (EKOE) & Climate Change (CC) • Data Knowledge and Operational Effectiveness (DKOE) • Maritime Unmanned Systems Enablers (MUSE) • This position is within the Autonomous Naval Mine Warfare (ANMW) team and contributes to ANMW Programme of Work (PoW).

2. PRINCIPAL DUTIES

We are looking for talented scientist in robotics and autonomous systems with a preference for underwater robotics to join our team in the research department at CMRE. This role requires a strong background and expertise in robotics and autonomy, applied more specifically to uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) and/or uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs) and uncrewed air vehicles (UAVs). The incumbent will be required to design, develop, implement and validate state-of-the-art autonomy algorithms to solve complex problems in relation to autonomous mine hunting and seabed warfare. The incumbent will be part of a multi-disciplinary research team including scientists, data engineers, software engineers and technicians, and will be expected to share expertise with the team to contribute to the prototyping of advanced systems demonstrating next-generation performance and capabilities in the maritime defence domain. The incumbent will: • Support the ANMW programme of work in the investigation and development of innovative and cutting edge scientific research ideas in the area of naval mine warfare, seabed warfare and drone warfare. • Develop and implement advanced and novel algorithms and models for autonomous systems. • Develop rigorous mathematical understanding/interpretation of the developed algorithms and assess their performance. • Collaborate with researchers and domain experts to identify research questions, potential solutions and design experiments to assess the relevant performance. • Conduct and document theoretical and/or experimental investigations as part of a team working on maritime research problems in the framework of the corresponding project and in support of the CMRE ANMW Programme of Work • Stay up to date with the latest advancements in autonomy, robotics and related fields, and apply relevant methodologies to research projects. • Participate in interdisciplinary research teams and contribute to research proposals and publications, both internal (CMRE reports) and external (peer-reviewed scientific publications). • Present research findings at conferences, workshops, and internal meetings. • Support the organization and execution of NATO workshops and conferences; the establishment of Multi-National Projects as relevant in the fields of NMW; the development of proposals for external funding beyond ACT, seeking and winning funding from National Naval R&D funding agencies or from National or NATO Multi-National projects.

3. SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS AND ADDITIONAL DUTIES

a. Flexibility Clause The incumbent may be required to perform other related duties as directed. All other related duties should correspond with the required competencies for the job. b. Deployment/Travel The incumbent may be required to perform their duties onboard Centre or chartered vessels. The incumbent may be required to undertake TDY assignments within and outside NATO boundaries. c. Certification The incumbent needs to hold a fit for sea certificate in line with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Labour Organization (ILO) standards before taking up duty.

4. ESSENTIAL QUALIFICATIONS

a. Professional/Experience

• Strong experience in one of the following topics: autonomous navigation, mapping, perception, autonomous behaviors and/or AI-driven autonomy, etc. • A degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Engineering, Statistics, Mathematics or related field. • Strong background in robotics and autonomous systems. • Strong background in AI applied to autonomy. • Proven track record of high quality scientific research in robotics with a significant publication record. • Experience with robotics’ software middleware (e.g. ROS or ROS2) - only for G15. • Strong scientific programming experience using standard software and operating systems such as Linux, MATLAB, Python. • Experience relative to architectures and algorithms for collaborative robotics - only for G15. • Experience participating in scientific project work within a multi-disciplinary environment. • Experience participating in the submission and execution of scientific projects, delivering the expected and required outputs to the satisfaction of the customer.

b. Education/Training For G15: • MSc degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in scientific, engineering, or related field maybe accepted and at least 5 years post-MSc related experience as Scientist or Engineer with a specific focus on physics, acoustics or signal processing; Or • PhD degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in physics, engineering, applied mathematics or related field and at least 2 years post-PhD related experience as Scientist or Engineer with a specific focus and training on ocean acoustics. For G11: • MSc degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in scientific, engineering, or related field maybe accepted and at least 3 years post-MSc related experience as Scientist or Engineer with a specific focus on physics, acoustics or signal processing; Or • PhD degree at a nationally recognised/certified University in physics, engineering, applied mathematics or related field with a specific focus and training on ocean acoustics.

c. Language Requirements A thorough knowledge of one of the two NATO languages, both written and spoken, is essential and some knowledge of the other is desirable. English SLP 3333 NOTE: Most of the work of CMRE is conducted in the English language.

5. DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

• Knowledge of subjects relating to autonomous maritime vehicles such as robotics, perception, tracking, automatic target recognition, cooperative behaviours, human-machine interfaces, navigation, signal and image processing, modelling and simulation, acoustic sensors. • Advanced programming skills in C++ language or any high performance embedded driven language (at least two years of experience, and experience proven by executed projects). • Recent scientific publications as first author documenting results in underwater robotics and/or autonomy. • Experience with robotics’ software middleware (e.g. ROS or ROS2) - only for G11. • Experience relative to architectures and algorithms for collaborative robotics - only for G11. • Experience in control and systems theory. • Experience in the field of AI applied to robotics. • Experience working in an international organization. • Track record in personal motivations evidenced by publicly-evidenced projects.

6. ATTRIBUTES/COMPETENCIES

The successful Candidate possesses the following competencies and personal attributes:

• Excellent communication skills, both oral and written – able to communicate at all levels. • Very good interpersonal skills. Solicits inputs and encourages others. • Innovative (capable to think outside the box) and driven. Always displaying sound judgement. • Excellent time management and organizational skills. • Agile and resilient.

All CMRE personnel are expected to conduct themselves in accordance with the current NATO Code of Conduct agreed by the North Atlantic Council (NAC), and thus display the core values of integrity, impartiality, loyalty, accountability, and professionalism.

7. REMARKS The duties are performed in an office, laboratory, workshop environment or on-board Centre ships. Slightly undesirable working conditions may apply. __________________________

HOW TO APPLY: Applications are to be submitted using the NATO Talent Acquisition Program (NTAP) For G15: https:///careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=261040&lang=en For G11: https:///careersection/2/jobdetail.ftl?job=261041&lang=en Applications submitted by other means are not accepted. NTAP allows adding attachments. Essential information must be included in the application form. Particular attention should be given to Education and Experience section. Each question should be answered completely. Expressions such as “please see annex / enclosed document” or invitations to follow links to personal webpages are not acceptable and will be disregarded. All answers should be in English preferably, or French.