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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).
• Strong scientific programming experience using standard software and operating systems such as Linux, MATLAB, Python.
• Experience relative to architectures and algorithms for collaborative robotics.
• 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
• 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.
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 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.
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About Us:
The Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) is part of the NATO Science and Technology Organization (STO). The mission of the STO is to help position both national and NATO science and technology investments as a strategic enabler and technology advantage for the defence and security posture of NATO Allies and partners. The Centre conducts scientific research and technology development and delivers innovative field-tested S&T solutions to address the defence and security needs of the Alliance. CMRE has more than 60 years of experience and has produced a cadre of leaders in ocean science, modelling and simulation, acoustics and other disciplines, as well as producing critical results and understanding that have been built into the operational concepts of NATO and the Nations.
What we offer:
• Salary (Pay Basis): 5,879.80 (EUR) Monthly.
Salary value as per 2026. Subject to future adjustments in accordance with North Atlantic Council decisions.
• Grade ABCL grade A2 / NATO grade G15
• A world class research facility located in the sea port of La Spezia, Italy supported by two specialised research vessels.
• An exciting place in which to work situated at an ideal location, the port of La Spezia, Italy, enabling synergy with regional and global academic institutes and industry.
• Salary and conditions of employment will be in accordance with the NATO Civilian Personnel Regulations (NCPR), which includes a rewarding salary and a comprehensive system of allowances, supplements and insurances to support families and, in case of expatriated staff, offers an interesting “expatriate” package.
• A generous annual leave and, (where eligible) home leave.
• The successful candidate will be offered a three years’ definite duration contract which may be renewed for subsequent periods subject to business needs, satisfactory performance and the need to rotate skills and talent within the Organization.
• Applicants who prove to be competent for the post but who are not successful in this competition may be offered an appointment to another post of a similar nature, which might become vacant in the near future, albeit at the same or a lower grade, provided they meet the necessary requirements.
Our recruitment process:
• Please note that we can only accept applications from nationals of NATO member countries.
• Applications (including the most relevant publications, the diplomas – stating the highest level of education – and a CV) for this vacancy are to be submitted using the E-recruitment system;
• Appointment will be subject to receipt of a security clearance (provided by the national Authorities of the selected candidate) and approval of the candidate’s medical file by the CMRE Medical Adviser.
Additional information:
• CMRE values diverse backgrounds and perspectives and is committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse and talented workforce. We welcome applications of nationals from all Member States and strongly encourage women to apply.
• Selected candidates are expected to be role models of integrity, and to promote good governance through ongoing efforts in their work.
For more information on how to apply:
NOTE:
NATO will not accept any phase of the recruitment and selection prepared, in whole or in part, by means of generative artificial-intelligence (AI) tools, including and without limitation to chatbots, such as Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer (Chat GPT), or other language generating tools. NATO reserves the right to screen applications to identify the use of such tools. All applications prepared, in whole or in part, by means of such generative or creative AI applications may be rejected without further consideration at NATO’s sole discretion, and NATO reserves the right to take further steps in such cases as appropriate.
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