Lead AI Research Engineer, Embodied Systems
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Sep 23, 2026. First seen by Alion on Jul 2, 2026. RoboForce scores C on the Alion truth index.
Why RoboForce
RoboForce is an AI robotics company developing Physical AI-powered Robo-Labor for dull, dirty, and dangerous work. The company's robots are engineered for demanding industrial environments, with a focus on real-world deployment and scalability.
We are looking for a Lead AI Research Engineer, Embodied Systems to lead and own the engineering of the systems that turn embodied AI into real-world robot behavior. You will be the technical owner and lead for the full embodied systems stack - the onboard AI system, the data collection system, the teleoperation systems, and the on-robot reinforcement learning system - driving the direction hands-on and closing the loop between data, models, and action in the physical world.
Responsibilities
Lead and own, from the engineering side, the embodied systems that power RoboForce's data flywheel - the onboard AI (inference) system, the data collection system, the teleoperation systems and the on-robot reinforcement learning system.
Set the technical direction and architecture for how learned models run, are evaluated, and improve on real robots.
Deliver these systems end-to-end on physical robots - from bring-up through reliable, real-time operation in demanding industrial environments.
Own on-robot deployment and closed-loop evaluation of policies, turning real-world performance into measurable improvements.
Partner with and influence the robotics software team and the ML research team to align interfaces and priorities across the stack.
Grow the direction - mentor engineers and raise the technical bar for embodied systems work.
Requirements
Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or related field with significant relevant experience, or a PhD degree.
Track record of leading complex robotic or embodied systems end-to-end and setting technical direction for other engineers.
Strong proficiency in both C++ and Python, with solid systems programming and real-time / performance-critical engineering skills.
Hands-on experience with ROS/ROS2 and robot middleware, including real-time integration of sensing, control, and compute.
Experience integrating and deploying ML models/policies into real-time robotic or autonomous systems - system ownership and building, rather than model training or research.
Requires 5 days/week in-office collaboration with the teams.
Bonus Qualifications
Experience with teleoperation and data-collection systems (e.g., VR, UR, GELLO, UMI) and the challenges of collecting high-quality robot data at scale.
Experience with on-robot reinforcement learning or closed-loop policy-improvement systems.
Familiarity with robot learning policies (VLA, imitation learning, behavior cloning) and their real-time inference and control-integration characteristics.
Familiarity with manipulation stacks, whole-body control interfaces, or real-time middleware tuning.
Benefits
Competitive stock options/equity programs.
Health, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) plan.
Visa sponsorship and green card support for qualified candidates.
Lunches and dinners, a fully stocked kitchen, and regular team-building events.
Compensation: Salary $190,000-$265,000 USD + Bonus + Equity
The base salary range above represents the expected compensation for this full-time U.S. position. Final compensation will be determined based on role scope, level, location, job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training, and may fall outside the listed range in exceptional cases.