Research Engineer / Research Scientist, Robotics and Physical AI
About the Role
This is a hands-on research and engineering role at an early-stage AI data company focused on robotics and physical AI. You will work across learning algorithms, simulation, and hardware to push robot capabilities from simulation into real-world deployment, shaping how robots perceive, plan, and act.
What You'll Do
Develop learning systems for robots, including policies, world models, and vision-language-action models.
Build and maintain simulation environments and evaluation frameworks for robotic tasks.
Apply and advance computer vision and perception algorithms for autonomous robots.
Build pipelines connecting simulation and real-world robot deployment across real-to-sim and sim-to-real workflows.
Work with robot hardware, sensors, actuators, and embedded systems to prototype and test capabilities.
Train and evaluate reinforcement-learning and imitation-learning systems for manipulation, locomotion, or mobile platforms.
Integrate robot platforms to validate algorithms in the physical world.
Create tools and infrastructure that accelerate robotics research and development.
Collaborate with external robotics companies and research labs on technical challenges.
What We're Looking For
Strong software skills in C++ and Python.
Practical experience with deep learning, reinforcement learning, and computer vision.
Demonstrated hands-on robotics research and engineering experience beyond academic prototypes alone.
Real-to-sim and sim-to-real workflow experience; familiarity with simulation platforms such as Isaac Lab, MuJoCo, MJX, or Genesis is a plus.
Hands-on mechanical and hardware engineering experience, including sensors, actuators, CAD, and embedded systems.
Relevant industry experience in a company environment, not solely university research.
Comfort operating as an individual contributor with end-to-end ownership in a small, fast-moving team.
Exposure to modern multimodal AI approaches such as transformers, diffusion models, world models, LLMs, or AI agents is a bonus.
Background from a recognized company or strong university is preferred; genuine robotics depth is required over adjacent ML experience alone.
All experience levels welcome, from new graduates to seasoned researchers.
Compensation & Benefits
Salary: $100,000 to $300,000 annually (USD), depending on experience.
Visa sponsorship is not available; candidates must be eligible to work in the US.
Location
On-site in San Francisco, California. This role is not remote.