Student Research Assistant - Bridge Monitoring, Computer Vision & Data Science

About the role

The Chair of Structural Mechanics & Monitoring at ETH Zurich, led by Prof. Eleni Chatzi, is looking for a Student Research Assistant to support its SWISS-BWIM project. The project combines bridge structural monitoring and traffic monitoring data to identify vehicle loads and assess the structural condition of highway bridges. The position is 30% time, fixed-term, in Zurich.

Key responsibilities

• Preprocess multi-modal data: synchronise measurements from different sensors, clean faulty data and improve data organisation and storage.
• Analyse traffic videos with deep-learning-based computer vision methods for vehicle detection and tracking, label data and fine-tune models, and use camera calibration to locate vehicles and their trajectories.
• Estimate traffic loads by fusing vehicle trajectories with bridge acceleration, strain and displacement measurements.
• Analyse structural and environmental measurements to extract performance indicators and investigate changes in bridge behaviour and condition.
• Combine identified traffic loads with structural response indicators for integrated condition assessment.
• Depending on background and interest, help develop and test new methods for traffic-load identification, computer-vision-based traffic monitoring and structural health monitoring.

Required profile

• Currently enrolled at a university in Zurich or the nearby area.
• Background in civil/structural engineering, mechanical engineering, data science, computer science or a related field.
• Experience or strong interest in at least two of: bridge engineering, structural dynamics or system identification; sensing systems and signal processing; data analysis and machine learning; computer vision (object detection, tracking, localisation).
• Able to commit 15 hours per week.
• Proficiency in English; the working language of the group is English.

Required skills

• Familiarity with Python programming.
• Advantageous: MATLAB and Linux.

What we offer

• Salary according to ETH Zurich's standard rates for student assistants.
• Computational resources, including CPU and GPU access on ETH Zurich's high-performance computing cluster.
• Office space on the ETH Zurich Hönggerberg campus and hands-on experience with real bridge monitoring systems and large datasets.
• Close supervision and a collaborative, international research environment.

Applications must be submitted online through the university's application portal by 31 October 2026, with a CV and cover letter.