Research Engineer in Virtual Reality and Robotics

Join an interdisciplinary team to develop a scalable, open-source VR laboratory for robotics training. The candidate will integrate the Franka Research 3 robot into the HANDZONe platform, develop real-time control interfaces, and improve modularity for future robot platforms.

• Integrate the FR3 into the existing platform
• Develop a Franka robot interface
• Connect the interface to the existing HANDZONe server and Grasshopper workflow
• Add the FR3 and its interaction environment to Unity
• Provide a simulated FR3 environment for development and testing without access to the physical robot
• Make HANDZONe more modular and easier to extend with other robot platforms
• Develop a common robot interface while keeping robot-specific control in separate drivers
• Document the resulting architecture, installation procedure, and development workflow for future open-source development

• A MSc degree in robotics, computer science, engineering, architecture, interaction technology, or a related field
• Experience with real-time control of robotic or other hardware systems on Linux
• Experience with Unity and C#, preferably for VR, simulation, digital twins, or interactive applications
• Experience with robotic systems and robot programming. Experience with UR or Franka robots, ROS/ROS2, TypeScript/Node.js, Python, or networked robotic systems is an advantage
• Knowledge of web-based systems, server communication, and data exchange between software and hardware
• Ability to work independently while collaborating in an interdisciplinary team across different faculties and fields of expertise
• Good communication and documentation skills in English, with an interest in open-source development and educational applications of robotics
• Willingness to work closely with students and teaching staff in interdisciplinary educational settings

• Duration of contract is temporary external finance for 6 to12 months
• A job of 24-32 hours per week
• A salary based on Scale 10 of the CAO for Dutch Universities with a salary between €3706 - €5760 gross per month based on a fulltime contract (38 hours)
• Plus 8% holiday allowance and an end-of-year bonus of 8.3%
• An excellent pension scheme via the ABP
• The possibility to compile an individual employment package every year
• Discount with health insurers on supplemental packages
• Flexible working week
• Every year, 232 leave hours (at 38 hours). You can also sell or buy additional leave hours via the individual choice budget
• Plenty of opportunities for education, training and courses
• Partially paid parental leave
• Attention for working healthy and energetically with the vitality program