Seeking a Research Scientist or a Postdoctoral Researcher (26-370)

Laboratory

Geoinformatics Team
Domain Intelligence Group
RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project
(Team Director : Naoto Yokoya)

Outline of Laboratory

The RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project (AIP) is a leading international hub for state-of-the-art AI research. Centered around three core research groups, - the Mathematical Intelligence Group, the Domain Intelligence Group, and the Physical Intelligence Group - AIP is dedicated to establishing the mathematical foundations of trustworthy AI, advancing AI technologies integrated with diverse scientific domains, and developing embodied intelligence for the real world.

Real-world environments are observed through diverse sensing modalities, yet the data are inherently incomplete, heterogeneous, and difficult to interpret. While humans integrate multimodal information and language to understand and reason about such environments, building computational systems with comparable capabilities remains a key challenge. The Geoinformatics Team develops multimodal and agentic AI systems for visual and spatial intelligence. Our research spans computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing, focusing on multimodal learning, data fusion, spatial-temporal modeling, and vision–language models. We study learning from limited data, cross-sensor integration, and scalable reasoning over large-scale time-series data, with applications in disaster response, urban analytics, and environmental monitoring.

For more information, please refer to the following link:
Geoinformatics Team | RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project

Job title and job description

Job title

Research Scientist or Postdoctoral Researcher: 1 position

Research Scientist: Conduct research projects and other activities in corresponding department.
Basically defined as those with a doctoral degree more than 5 years.
Postdoctoral Researcher: Receive training and guidance from senior staff; conduct research projects and other activities for Programs or equivalent.
Basically defined as those with a doctoral degree of 5 years or less.

Job description

The candidate will join the Geoinformatics Team at RIKEN AIP and contribute to the development of multimodal and agentic AI systems for geospatial intelligence. The research focuses on understanding and reasoning about real-world environments from large-scale, time-series geospatial data, by integrating remote sensing, computer vision, machine learning, and natural language processing. The candidate is expected to conduct research on fundamental problems such as multimodal learning, cross-sensor data fusion, spatial-temporal modeling, and scalable reasoning from incomplete and heterogeneous observations. The position also involves developing vision–language models and agentic AI systems that enable interactive understanding and decision support for geoscience applications. The candidate is expected to publish research outcomes in top-tier conferences and journals, contribute to collaborative projects related to AI for Science, and support the supervision of students and junior researchers.

The job description may be changed during the contract period or upon contract renewal to the extent described above.

Qualifications

Must have a Ph.D. or expect to receive a Ph.D. before the date of employment in computer science, machine learning, geoinformatics, or a related field.
The candidate must have a strong publication record in top-tier conferences or journals in machine learning, computer vision, or natural language processing (e.g., NeurIPS, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, ACL, EMNLP, etc.).
Expertise in one or more of the following areas is required: computer vision, remote sensing, machine learning, and natural language processing.
Experience in developing practical systems or working with large-scale real-world data is highly desirable.
The candidate should be proactive, collaborative, and flexible, with strong communication skills, and be able to work effectively with researchers from diverse disciplines and external partners.
must be proactive, cooperative, flexible, and able to respond according to the circumstances.
must also have good communication skills and be able to cooperate with the relevant personnel within/outside of the laboratory to fulfill the tasks.

Work location

RIKEN Tokyo Campus (1-4-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo)

RIKEN may order the employee to change work locations, if necessary.

Salary and benefits

1.A one-year fixed-term employment contract, renewable based on evaluation, up to the end of the fiscal year (March 31) in which the employee completes 7 years of employment. (Maximum employment duration for a Postdoctoral Researcher is 5 years).
2.RIKEN may adjust the above maximum period of renewability based on a) the employee’s abilities, workload at the time of contract completion, performance and work attitude and b) the continuation of the employee’s center, laboratory or project and RIKEN’s management situation and budget at the time. In principle, employment contracts will not be renewed for individuals older than 70 years.

In principle, the first two months of employment are considered a trial period.

Salary will be an annual salary based on experience, ability, and performance, and will consist of a base salary and a variable salary. The variable salary will be determined each fiscal year based on experience, ability, and performance.
Discretionary work, commuting and housing allowances will be provided. Social insurance will be applied.

The approximate amount of salary at the time of employment: Research Scientist：The total amount of monthly discretionary work allowance and monthly salary at the time of hiring will be 448,990JPY or more; Postdoctoral Researcher：The total amount of monthly discretionary work allowance and monthly salary at the time of hiring will be 382,610JPY or more

RIKEN has implemented a telecommuting system that allows employees to work from home or other locations permitted by RIKEN.
This position falls under the specialized duties discretionary work system; one working day will be calculated as 7 hours and 30 minutes.
Days off include public holidays, New Year's holidays (Dec. 29 - Jan. 3), and RIKEN Foundation Day.
Paid leave includes annual paid leave (up to 20 days depending on the month of employment), special paid leave (caring for a sick child, family nursing care, etc.), and work-life balance holidays (up to 7 days depending on the month of employment).
There are also additional leave systems such as maternity leave, childcare leave, and family nursing care leave.
Smoking is entirely prohibited on site.
These and other provisions are in accordance with RIKEN regulations.

Mandatory membership in the RIKEN Mutual Benefit Society (RIKEN Kyosaikai).

*Eligible to apply for the MEXT Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Kakenhi).
*RIKEN is actively undertaking initiatives to promote gender equality and diversity, and moving forward with the establishment of a diverse and vibrant research environment. If multiple candidates are found to have the same aptitude following a fair assessment, active efforts will be made to recruit female candidates.
*The Wako Campus has an on-site daycare, RIKEN Kids Wako. For details, please send an email to kids@riken.jp.

Application and required documents

Required documents

1.List of publications (including Researcher ID or Google Scholar ID, if available): Circle titles of three major papers in the list
2.Photocopies of three major research papers.
3.Two different letters of recommendation including one by the current supervisor
Note:
- If you cannot obtain a letter of recommendation from your current supervisor, the same document issued by a third party is acceptable.
- Please specify the referee’s contact information (Name, affiliation, job title, phone number, and email address)
- Letters of recommendation must be addressed to: Director of RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project
- Letters of recommendation must be submitted directly by the recommender, not by the applicant. We will contact the recommender with the URL to which the letter of recommendation should be submitted.
4.Research in the past and research plan (3 pages in A4 size)
Your research plan must include outcome expected within a few years from your appointment.
5.Agreement on handling of personal information (Handling of personal information based on the Hiring Privacy Policy, the General Data Protection Regulation, and the UK General Data Protection Regulation)
Please review the following web page before submitting the consent form.:

How to apply

A)Please access " [HR] Inquiry for public recruitment" and enter your contact information, the Open call ID (26-370) and so on.
B)Our HR staff will send you an email with instructions on how to submit your application.

Note: Application documents will not be returned.
We cannot answer any inquiry about information regarding application status or evaluation details prior to, during, or after the evaluation process

Deadline

Open until the position is filled

Handling Personal Data

Submitted documents are strictly protected under the RIKEN Privacy Policy and will be used only for the purpose of applicant screening at RIKEN. Personal information will not be disclosed, transferred, or loaned to a third party under any circumstances without just cause.

Selection process

Application screening and interview for selected applicants.

Notification of hiring decision

The notification of hiring decision (conditional offer of employment) regarding this selection shall be carried out through the presentation of an Employment Contract or a Conditional Offer of Employment issued by RIKEN.

Start of Employment

As early as possible.

Contact Information

RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project
Email: aip-hr@ml.riken.jp
For inquiries, please send an email.