The Max Planck Society has established a major new research direction
in “Autonomous Systems” to understand the organizing principles of
systems that sense, act, and learn by combining theory, computation,
material science and biology. The Perceiving Systems Department in
Tübingen seeks

Post Doctoral Researchers

Multiple full-time postdoctoral positions are available in computer
vision at the Max Planck Institute for Autonomous Systems (working
title). The Perceiving Systems Department, headed by Michael J. Black
(formerly at Brown University), pursues basic research in computer
vision including

Motion estimation: optical flow, layered models, scene flow.
Scene modeling: image statistics, material properties, learning.
Articulated tracking: 2D & 3D human and animal pose estimation.
Body shape estimation: 2D & 3D body models, dynamics, clothing, hair.
Internet/mobile vision: social, collaborative, interactive applications.
Computational neuroscience: neural coding and models of motion perception.

Outstanding candidates in all areas of computer vision will be
considered but special emphasis will be given to candidates with
experience in modeling and estimating human and animal shape including
3D mesh models, statistical shape modeling, 3D vision, articulated
pose estimation, and non-rigid models of clothing, hair and fur.
While our focus is basic research, we also pursue commercial
applications and applications in neuroscience.

The Institute studies perception, action and learning from molecules
to machines and has research centers in Tübingen and Stuttgart. The
Perceiving Systems Department is located in Tübingen together with the
Empirical Inference Department of Prof. Bernhard Schölkopf and the MPI
for Biological Cybernetics. The Max Planck Institutes in Tübingen
represent an exceptional research environment in which scientists from
a wide range of fields including computer vision, machine learning,
robotics, neuroscience, and cognitive science collaborate. A full
range of state-of-the-art equipment will be available, including novel
3D and 4D scanning systems, multi-camera video capture, and a large
compute cluster.

Only candidates with a sustained history of significant publication in
vision, graphics, and learning are encouraged to apply (e.g., ICCV,
CVPR, ECCV, NIPS, SIGGRAPH, IJCV, PAMI). A PhD in computer science
or a related field is required. The working language is English and
strong written and spoken English is necessary.

Tübingen is a beautiful and lively medieval town with a large
university population. Located in southern Germany, at the edge of the
Swabian Jura, the surrounding country is characterized by rolling
hills, forests, river valleys, historic towns, and extensive walking
and biking trails. The quality of life is excellent.

The initial appointment will be for 2 years, in accordance with the
German salary standards (TVöD), and is renewable. The target starting
date is as soon as possible but is flexible.

The Max Planck Society is an equal opportunity employer; women and
people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. Applications in
English, including a statement of research experience and interests, a
curriculum vita listing publications, and contact details of at least
two referees, should be sent in PDF form to: Melanie Feldhofer,
melanie.feldhofer@mf.mpg.de.

More information about our institute can be found at http://as.mpg.de.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis but candidates are
encouraged to apply by February 28, 2011.