IIT Kharagpur Research Associate Recruitment 2026

IIT Kharagpur Research Associate Recruitment 2026: Overview

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur) is recruiting Research Associates for the Vikram Sodhi Centre of Excellence for AI-Enabled Geological and Mining Systems. This is a temporary research engagement built around applying artificial intelligence and data-led methods to geological exploration, mine planning and mining operations.

The centre brings together mining, computer science, artificial intelligence, data science and geology rather than treating them as separate subjects. That makes the assignment a good fit for researchers who can connect domain questions from earth resources and mines with computational approaches, and who are comfortable working across disciplinary boundaries.

The notification places particular weight on published research and names a wide set of application areas for the centre. You would be joining at Research Associate level, so the work is likely to involve independent analysis, clear technical judgement and research outputs that can stand up to academic review, while still contributing to the centre's practical systems.

The post is linked to a defined centre project, not to a permanent teaching or administrative cadre. Before applying, match your doctoral work and publication record carefully with the stated technical themes; a broad computing or geology background alone may not show the required domain connection.

Posts and Disciplines

• Mine planning and automation: research aimed at improving how mines are designed, planned and operated with intelligent systems.
• Orebody intelligence: work that turns geological and operational data into a clearer model of the deposit.
• Ore geology and critical minerals: studies involving ore systems, critical-mineral resources and rare earth elements.
• Gold exploration targeting: integrated approaches that combine different evidence streams to identify promising exploration targets.
• Planning-to-production systems: research connecting geological understanding, mine design and production decisions.
• Hyperspectral core scanning: data-led analysis of drill core to support quantitative mineralogy.

Service Conditions and Caveats

• Nature of appointment: This is a temporary project-based research role and does not create a claim to a regular IIT post.
• Research level: The role expects a doctoral research profile supported by first-author journal publications in a relevant area.
• Work base: The position is attached to the IIT Kharagpur campus in West Bengal and the named Centre of Excellence.
• Placement: The institute states that a Research Associate may be placed at an appropriate level after considering qualification and experience.

• Lead research tasks in AI-enabled geological exploration or mining systems
• Build and assess data-driven methods for the assigned technical problem
• Analyse geological, mineral, mine-planning, or production datasets
• Design reproducible experiments and keep complete research records
• Prepare journal manuscripts, technical reports, and project presentations
• Coordinate research inputs across geology, mining, and computing teams
• Report findings and implementation risks to the centre's project leadership