Applied Scientist, Fauna

Amazon Inc.; Seattle, Northern (WA, KY); Hybrid; USD 172,000 - 223,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon.com Services LLC in New York is seeking an Applied Scientist to lead evaluation frameworks for robotic capabilities and data collection protocols across real-world tasks. You will design measurement, stress-testing, and improvement of robot behavior to accelerate system performance.

Work spans robotics, ML, and human-in-the-loop systems, building infrastructure for evaluation policies, task definitions, and operator-facing interfaces that enable scalable data collection and reliable

Qualifications

• 3+ years building models for business applications.
• Publications or patents in top-tier venues.
• Proficiency in Java, C++, Python.
• Experience with algorithms, data structures, and HPC.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement evaluation frameworks to measure robot capabilities across real-world scenarios.
• Develop task definitions, success criteria, and benchmarking methodologies for evaluation of policies.
• Create and refine data collection protocols to generate high-quality task-relevant datasets.
• Build and iterate teleoperation workflows and operator interfaces for scalable data collection.
• Analyze evaluation results to identify performance gaps and data collection opportunities.
• Collaborate with engineering to integrate evaluation tooling and data pipelines into the robotics stack.
• Stay current with robotics and human-in-the-loop learning to improve approaches.
• Lead technical projects from conception to production deployment.
• Mentor junior scientists and engineers.

Skills

Programming in Java/C++/Python

Publications or patents

Algorithms & HPC

Tools

Unix/Linux

Software development

Distributed computing

Job description

Job ID: 10567501 | Amazon.com Services LLC

We are seeking an Applied Scientist to lead the development of evaluation frameworks and data collection protocols for robotic capabilities. In this role, you will focus on designing how we measure, stress-test, and improve robot behavior across a wide range of real-world tasks. Your work will play a critical role in shaping how policies are validated and how high-quality datasets are generated to accelerate system performance.
You will operate at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and human-in-the-loop systems, building the infrastructure and methodologies that connect teleoperation, evaluation, and learning. This includes developing evaluation policies, defining task structures, and contributing to operator-facing interfaces that enable scalable and reliable data collection.
The ideal candidate is highly experimental, systems-oriented, and comfortable working across software, robotics, and data pipelines, with a strong focus on turning ambiguous capability goals into measurable and actionable evaluation systems.

Key Job Responsibilities

• Design and implement evaluation frameworks to measure robot capabilities across structured tasks, edge cases, and real-world scenarios
• Develop task definitions, success criteria, and benchmarking methodologies that enable consistent and reproducible evaluation of policies
• Create and refine data collection protocols that generate high-quality, task-relevant datasets aligned with model development needs
• Build and iterate on teleoperation workflows and operator interfaces to support efficient, reliable, and scalable data collection
• Analyze evaluation results and collected data to identify performance gaps, failure modes, and opportunities for targeted data collection
• Collaborate with engineering teams to integrate evaluation tooling, logging systems, and data pipelines into the broader robotics stack
• Stay current with advances in robotics, evaluation methodologies, and human-in-the-loop learning to continuously improve internal approaches
• Lead technical projects from conception through production deployment
• Mentor junior scientists and engineers

Basic Qualifications

• 3+ years of building models for business application experience
• Experience in patents or publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals
• Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
• Experience in any of the following areas: algorithms and data structures, parsing, numerical optimization, data mining, parallel and distributed computing, high-performance computing

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience using Unix/Linux
• Experience in professional software development

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits .

USA, NY, New York - 172,400.00 - 223,400.00 USD annually