Senior AI Research Scientist: Model-Based RL (Remote)

Phaidra; Portugal; Remote; EUR 83,000 - 138,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% remote company

Equity

Unlimited PTO

Paid parental leave

MacBook

Job summary

Phaidra is a remote-first company building AI-powered control systems for industrial automation. The Research Scientist role focuses on model-based reinforcement learning, planning controllers, and world models, with strong emphasis on safety and real-world deployment.

Candidates with PhD and strong Python/PyTorch skills are encouraged to apply. Base salary bands for Portugal residents are defined by tier, with equity eligibility and a remote, globally distributed team.

Qualifications

• PhD in a technical field with strong model-based RL background.
• 2+ years post-PhD or 5+ years post-Master research experience.
• Extensive RL and Control Theory research, especially model-based methods.
• Hands-on experience with simulators and closing sim-to-real gaps.
• Publications in RL, control, or related areas.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and evaluate model-based RL agents and planning-based controllers for real industrial systems.
• Develop learned dynamics and world models with training pipelines (pretraining, curriculum learning, active/adversarial learning).
• Research safe RL, constrained control, scenario planning, and Bayesian RL for safe deployment.
• Communicate findings clearly, both internally and externally.
• Mentor Research Engineers and translate research into production outcomes.
• Own development and rollout of a research area or large project.

Skills

PhD in technical field

Model-based RL

Planning algorithms

World models

Reinforcement Learning

Deep Learning

Control Theory

Safe / constrained RL

2+ years post-PhD

5+ years post-Master

Publications in RL/Control

Python

PyTorch

Ray

Kubernetes

GCP

Education

PhD in ML/Control

Tools

Python

PyTorch

Ray

Kubernetes

Docker

GCP

Job description

Phaidra is a remote-first company building AI-powered control systems for industrial automation. The Research Scientist role focuses on model-based reinforcement learning, planning controllers, and world models, with strong emphasis on safety and real-world deployment.

Candidates with PhD and strong Python/PyTorch skills are encouraged to apply. Base salary bands for Portugal residents are defined by tier, with equity eligibility and a remote, globally distributed team.