Founding Robotics ML Research Engineer

Boost Robotics; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Startup equity

Relocation assistance

Job summary

Boost Robotics, based in Boston, seeks a Founding Robotics ML Research Engineer to deploy behavior cloning and RL policies for dexterous tasks in data centers. You will lead data-collection, training, and real-time systems while advancing robotics learning research into production.

The role requires MS/PhD or equivalent, deep ML/robotics expertise, and comfort in a fast-moving startup environment with relocation support and equity opportunities.

Qualifications

• Background in Robotics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or related field (MS/PhD preferred).
• Experience training large manipulation models (diffusionpolicies, VLAs).
• Experience deploying learning-based control and perception algorithms on real robots.
• Experience with common ML tools, architectures, and workflows.
• Strong foundation in classical manipulation, control theory, and motion planning.
• Comfort working in small, fast-paced teams where experimentation is constant and results matter.
• Familiarity with various robot teleoperation techniques.

Responsibilities

• Deploy modern behavior cloning and reinforcement learning policies for dextrous tasks in the data center, with a focus on high success rates.
• Lead the software infrastructure for data collection, training, and real-time operation.
• Stay at the frontier of robotics learning research and translate it into production-ready systems that push the boundaries of today’s state of the art.

Skills

Robotics

Machine Learning

Control theory

Motion planning

Experimentation

Education

MS/PhD preferred

Tools

Diffusion policies

VLAs

Job description

Founding Robotics ML Research Engineer

Boost Robotics

is developing the next generation of autonomous systems that monitor and maintain the world’s digital infrastructure. Backed by

Y Combinator

, our team consists of former

CMU Robotics

and

Boston Dynamics

engineers who have worked on robot systems in defense, agriculture, logistics, and industrial inspection.

The mission? Bring dependable, intelligent robotics to some of the most important and fastest-growing infrastructures powering the world’s digital backbone - data centers.

The Role

As a

Founding Robotics ML Research Engineer

, you will:

Deploy modern behavior cloning and reinforcement learning policies for dextrous tasks in the data center, with a focus on high success rates.

Lead the software infrastructure for data collection, training, and real-time operation.

Stay at the frontier of robotics learning research and translate it into production-ready systems that push the boundaries of today’s state of the art.

What We’re Looking For

• Background in Robotics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field (MS/PhD preferred).
• Experience training large manipulation models (diffusionpolicies, VLAs)
• Experience developing and deploying learning-based control and perception algorithms on real robots.
• Experience with common ML tools, architectures, and workflows
• Strong foundation in classical manipulation, control theory, and motion planning.
• Comfort working in small, fast-paced teams where experimentation is constant and results matter.
• Familiarity with various robot teleoperation techniques.

Bonus Points

• Track record of publishing or contributing to top-tier conferences like ICRA, CoRL, RSS, NeurIPS, or CVPR.
• Background in embedded AI or edge deployment.
• Contributions to open-source robotics or ML projects.
• Experience deploying robots in production or industrial environments.
• Exposure to tactile sensing for manipulation.

We’re not hiring for a checklist - we’re hiring for exceptional people. If you move fast, think deeply, and love building things that actually work, you’ll fit right in.

Why you’ll join us

There’s no instruction manual for what we’re building. There’s also no legacy code and no layers of approval - just engineers turning ideas into deployed, practical robots that keep the entire digital world online.

We’re friends and builders who hold the highest standards for ourselves and our work. Joining us means having a say in everything - the culture, the rituals, the engineering stack, and what our robots look like. You won’t just work here - you’ll help create what “here” means.

Compensation

The salary for this role is $120K - $200K, with competitive startup equity, health benefits, and relocation as needed.