Research Scientist

Research Scientist – Robotics & Machine Learning

Up to $300k + equity

The Opportunity

An innovative robotics company is seeking a Staff Research Scientist to advance reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and dextrous manipulation.

As a Research Scientist, you will work at the intersection of machine learning research and real-world robotics, developing algorithms that enable robots to perform increasingly complex physical tasks. You will help shape research direction, build scalable training and data collection pipelines, evaluate algorithms in simulation, and deploy models onto physical robotic systems.

This Research Scientist position offers significant technical ownership, from exploring novel learning approaches to translating research breakthroughs into practical robotic capabilities.

What's in It for You?

• Up to $300k + Stock Options – Competitive compensation with equity participation.
• Exceptional Team – Work alongside leading researchers and engineers with strong academic backgrounds in AI, ML, and robotics.
• Cutting-Edge Research – Apply advanced RL/IL techniques to real-world robotic manipulation.
• Technical Ownership – Shape research direction and take projects from concept to deployment.
• Real-World Impact – Help push the boundaries of intelligent robotics and next-generation AI.

Key Responsibilities

• Research, develop, and optimise reinforcement learning (RL) and imitation learning (IL) algorithms for complex robotic manipulation tasks.
• Evaluate emerging research methods and translate promising techniques into practical robotic applications.
• Improve learning efficiency, training speed, computational performance, and scalability across RL/IL workflows.
• Design and implement scalable training, simulation, and data collection pipelines to accelerate deployment on physical robots.
• Investigate algorithm performance, diagnose failure modes, and develop robust solutions to complex technical challenges.

Experience & Qualifications

• PhD in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, Robotics, or a related discipline, or equivalent practical research experience.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience developing and deploying robotic manipulation capabilities in simulation and on physical robots.
• 3+ years of practical experience applying reinforcement learning and/or imitation learning, ideally in real-world robotics applications.
• Strong understanding of sim-to-real transfer techniques and the challenges of deploying learned policies onto physical hardware.
• Experience integrating machine learning models into robotic platforms and validating their performance in real-world environments.
• A strong research track record, including publications at leading robotics and machine learning conferences such as ICRA, IROS, CoRL, or equivalent venues.

Technical Skills

• Dextrous Manipulation Expertise - Experience developing learning-based approaches for complex robotic manipulation and fine motor control in real-world environments
• Strong Python development skills.
• Practical experience with PyTorch and/or TensorFlow.
• Familiarity with ROS 2 and robotics software architectures.
• Deep understanding of reinforcement learning & imitation learning
• Experience with collaborative development tools such as Git, Jira, Confluence, GitLab, or equivalent platforms.

Interested in Learning More?

If your background combines reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and hands-on robotic manipulation, get in touch for a confidential discussion about this Research Scientist opportunity.