Research assistant (PhD position) in Reinforcement Learning at University of Zurich

Dear all,

We are seeking a highly motivated student to join the ALPI Lab (https://sites.google.com/view/alpi-lab) at the University of Zurich, headed by Prof. Giorgia Ramponi. The position will start as a research assistant, with the intention of becoming a PhD position afterward. The position is fully funded, and the candidate will also be affiliated with the UZH.ai Hub and the ETH AI Center.

The candidate will work on advancing the foundations of sequential decision making, particularly focusing on one or more of the directions below:

• Multi-Agent Learning: Advancing our understanding of strategic interaction among learning agents, including equilibrium computation, game-theoretic foundations, and scalable algorithms for multi-agent systems.
• Multi-Agent LLM Systems: Designing and analyzing frameworks where multiple large language model agents interact, negotiate, and coordinate, drawing on game-theoretic and reinforcement learning principles to understand emergent behaviors, alignment in multi-party settings, and strategic communication among LLM-based agents.
• Imitation Learning and Learning from Human Feedback: Designing principled methods for learning behaviors from demonstrations or preferences, including inverse reinforcement learning, preference elicitation, and reward specification.
• Sequential decision making under constraints: Building frameworks for safe and constrained policy optimization, including constrained MDPs, constrained Markov Games, and settings with limited or no explicit reward signals.

We are looking for candidates with:

• Master's degree (completed or expected soon) in computer science, mathematics, machine learning, statistics, or a related field.
• Strong background in at least one of: machine learning, reinforcement learning, optimization, probability, statistics, game theory, or applied mathematics.
• Proficiency in Python and frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX.
• Excellent written and communication skills in English.

About our lab :) The ALPI Lab is part of the Department of Informatics at UZH and is affiliated with the UZH.ai Hub and the ETH AI Center. We offer a collaborative and international research environment. The lab maintains close ties to the Zurich AI ecosystem and benefits from access to excellent compute infrastructure.

About Zurich :) Zurich is one of Europe's most vibrant cities for AI research, home to a rapidly growing AI ecosystem that includes UZH.AI, ETH AI Center, and major industry labs. The city consistently ranks among the highest in the world for quality of life, offering a stunning natural setting between the Alps and the lake of Zurich.

How to apply: Please send the following materials by email to applications.alpilab@gmail.com with the subject line AlpiApplication2026:

• CV,
• Transcript,
• A short motivational letter explaining why you are interested in working with us, including which of the above research directions excites you most.
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis starting from the 21st of April, and the position will remain open until filled.

Best regards,

Giorgia Ramponi