1.77 Robotics Research AI Engineer: Robot Learning

FieldAI

Pittsburgh (Allegheny County)

Hybrid

USD 70,000 - 200,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

A robotics technology company in Pittsburgh is seeking a Robotics Research AI Engineer to design and deploy advanced learning algorithms for robots. This role requires a strong research background and hands-on experience with robot learning, reinforcement learning, and experience with PyTorch. The position provides a competitive salary range of $70,000 - $200,000 based on experience, with potential for remote or hybrid work options.

Qualifications

Strong research background in robotics or AI/ML.
Experience with real robots like mobile platforms or manipulators.
Ability to translate research into practical systems.

Responsibilities

Develop Robot Skill Learning Methods.
Integrate reinforcement and imitation learning into robotics.
Deploy models onto real robots.

Skills

Robot learning methods

PyTorch

Problem-solving skills

Collaboration in interdisciplinary teams

Strong problem-solving skills

Education

PhD or MS in Robotics, AI/ML, or related fields

Tools

ROS2

Modern ML training frameworks

Job description

About the Role

We are looking for a Robotics Research AI Engineer (Robot Learning) to push the frontier of embodied intelligence. In this role, you will design and deploy cutting-edge learning algorithms that enable robots to acquire new skills across a wide range of embodiments. You will contribute to research and large-scale training of foundation models for robotics, spanning visual-language models (VLMs), large language models (LLMs), and control policies. Your work will directly impact robot capabilities in the field, from traversability to dexterous manipulation, shaping how intelligent robots operate in unstructured real-world environments.

This is a role for someone who thrives at the intersection of research and engineering—building scalable learning systems while advancing state of the art in robot learning.

Responsibilities

Develop Robot Skill Learning Methods
Design and train algorithms that enable robots to acquire generalizable skills across diverse embodiments
Integrate reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and foundation models into real robot pipelines
Advance Robotics Foundation Models by leveraging VLMs and LLMs for perception, reasoning, and action planning
Explore large-scale pretraining and fine-tuning approaches tailored to embodied intelligence
Build and optimize large-scale distributed training pipelines using PyTorch and modern ML infrastructure
Deploy models onto real robots, bridging the gap between simulation and field-ready execution
Work on core challenges in traversability, mobile robotics, and manipulation
Collaborate with hardware engineers to validate algorithms in unstructured, high-variance environments
Conduct cutting-edge research and publish in top robotics, AI, and machine learning venues
Contribute to the broader robotics research community while advancing Field AI’s mission

What You Have

Strong research background (PhD, MS, or equivalent industry research experience) in Robotics, AI/ML, or related fields
Proficiency in robot learning methods (reinforcement learning, imitation learning, representation learning)
Experience with PyTorch and modern ML training frameworks
Hands-on experience with real robots (mobile platforms, manipulators, or other embodiments)
Strong foundation in large-scale distributed training and optimization
Ability to translate research into practical, field-deployable systems
Excellent problem-solving skills and ability to thrive in fast-paced, interdisciplinary teams

The Extras That Set You Apart

Publications in top-tier conferences/journals (CoRL, ICRA, IROS, NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, etc.)
Experience deploying VLMs/LLMs in robotics pipelines
Background in 3D vision, mapping, or traversability analysis
Experience in sim-to-real transfer for manipulation and locomotion
Familiarity with modern robot middleware (ROS2, Isaac, etc.)
Strong software engineering practices (CI/CD, testing, scalable infrastructure)
Contributions to open-source robotics or ML frameworks

Compensation and Benefits

Our salary range is between $70,000 - $200,000 annual, but we take into consideration an individual's background and experience in determining final salary; base pay offered may vary considerably depending on geographic location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Also, while we enjoy being together on-site, we are open to exploring a hybrid or remote option.

Why Join Field AI?

We are solving one of the world’s most complex challenges: deploying robots in unstructured, previously unknown environments. Our Field Foundational Models™ set a new standard in perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, ensuring our approach is explainable and safe for deployment.

You will have the opportunity to work with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. With a decade-long track record of deploying solutions in the field, winning DARPA challenge segments, and bringing expertise from organizations like DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise Self-Driving, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, we are set to achieve our ambitious goals.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

To tackle such ambitious challenges, we need a team as unique as our vision — innovators who go beyond conventional methods and are eager to tackle tough, uncharted questions. We’re seeking individuals who challenge the status quo, dive into uncharted territory, and bring interdisciplinary expertise. Our team requires not only top AI talent but also exceptional software developers, engineers, product designers, field deployment experts, and communicators.

We are headquartered in Mission Viejo, Southern California and have US-based and global teammates.

Join us, shape the future, and be part of a fun, close-knit team on an exciting journey!

We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are evaluated on merit, qualifications, and performance. We will never discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.

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