Physical AI Engineer, Lead

Booz Allen Hamilton; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 113,000 - 257,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Paid leave

Tuition assistance

Professional development

Work-life balance

Job summary

Booz Allen Hamilton is seeking a Lead Physical AI Engineer to shape and deploy next-generation robotic and multimodal AI capabilities for national security missions. You will lead multidisciplinary teams, design scalable physical AI systems, and drive strategy across autonomy, reinforcement learning, world modeling, simulation-to-real transfer, perceptual systems, and embodied AI.

This role requires mentoring senior engineers, translating research into production-grade solutions, and partnering

Qualifications

• 8+ years of experience developing AI, robotics, autonomous systems, or machine learning solutions.
• Experience delivering production AI systems from concept through deployment.
• Experience with reinforcement learning, imitation learning, robot learning, computer vision, planning, autonomous navigation, manipulation, sensor fusion, multimodal AI, or foundation models.
• Experience with Python, C++, and modern AI frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, TensorFlow, or Ray.
• Experience with robotic middleware and simulators such as ROS, ROS2, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, or Gazebo.
• Ability to obtain a Secret clearance
• Master's degree

Responsibilities

• Lead the architecture, development, and deployment of Physical AI systems for autonomous systems and embodied agents.
• Design and implement models for perception, planning, motion control, manipulation, navigation, and sensor fusion.
• Develop large-scale training pipelines using simulation, synthetic data generation, imitation learning, and reinforcement learning.
• Integrate multimodal AI including vision, language, and action models into real world physical AI platforms.
• Translate research innovations into production-ready solutions.
• Mentor and guide senior engineers and establish engineering best practices and technical standards.
• Partner with business, research, and mission stakeholders to define strategy and assess emerging technologies.
• Represent Booz Allen in industry forums, technical exchanges, and client engagements.

Skills

AI & ML

Robotics

Autonomous systems

Python

C++

Reinforcement learning

Multimodal AI

Team leadership

Education

Master's degree

Tools

ROS/ROS2

Isaac Sim

MuJoCo

Gazebo

PyTorch

TensorFlow

JAX

Ray

Job description

The Opportunity

Advance the future of autonomous systems, robotics, and embodied intelligence. As a Physical AI leader, you will shape, design, and deploy next generation robotic and multimodal AI capabilities that support some of the most complex missions in national security, defense, and emerging technology. At Booz Allen, you will lead multidisciplinary engineering teams, build scalable physical AI systems, and drive technical strategy across autonomy, reinforcement learning, world modeling, simulation to real transfer, robotic perception, and embodied AI. You will also partner with mission leaders to turn cutting‑edge research into operational, production‑grade capabilities.

Job Number: R0252254

Physical AI Engineer, Lead

The Opportunity

Advance the future of autonomous systems, robotics, and embodied intelligence. As a Physical AI leader, you will shape, design, and deploy next generation robotic and multimodal AI capabilities that support some of the most complex missions in national security, defense, and emerging technology. At Booz Allen, you will lead multidisciplinary engineering teams, build scalable physical AI systems, and drive technical strategy across autonomy, reinforcement learning, world modeling, simulation to real transfer, robotic perception, and embodied AI. You will also partner with mission leaders to turn cutting‑edge research into operational, production‑grade capabilities.

Join us. The world can’t wait.

What You'll Work On

• Lead the architecture, development, and deployment of Physical AI systems for autonomous systems and embodied agents.
• Design and implement models for perception, planning, motion control, manipulation, navigation, and sensor fusion.
• Develop large‑scale training pipelines using simulation, synthetic data generation, imitation learning, and reinforcement learning.
• Integrate multimodal AI including vision, language, and action models into real world physical AI platforms.
• Translate research innovations, such as robot learning, foundation models, and world models, into production-ready solutions.
• Mentor and guide senior engineers and establish engineering best practices and technical standards.
• Partner with business, research, and mission stakeholders to define strategy and assess emerging technologies.
• Represent Booz Allen in industry forums, technical exchanges, and client engagements.

You Have

• 8+ years of experience developing AI, robotics, autonomous systems, or machine learning solutions
• Experience delivering production AI systems from concept through deployment
• Experience with reinforcement learning, imitation learning, robot learning, computer vision, planning, autonomous navigation, manipulation, sensor fusion, multimodal AI, or foundation models
• Experience with Python, C++, and modern AI frameworks such as PyTorch, JAX, TensorFlow, or Ray
• Experience with robotic middleware and simulators such as ROS, ROS2, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, or Gazebo
• Ability to obtain a Secret clearance
• Master's degree

Nice If You Have

• Experience publishing research in robotics, embodied AI, or machine learning
• Experience with robot foundation models, world modeling, and digital twins
• Experience in humanoid robotics, dexterous manipulation, or mobile robotics
• Experience with distributed training, GPU acceleration, and edge or embedded deployment
• Experience contributing to open‑source AI or robotics ecosystems
• Doctorate degree in CS, Robotics, AI, EE, or ME

Clearance

Applicants selected will be subject to a security investigation and may need to meet eligibility requirements for access to classified information.

Compensation

• health, life, disability, financial, and retirement benefits
• paid leave
• professional development
• tuition assistance
• work-life programs
• dependent care
• recognition awards program acknowledges employees for exceptional performance and superior demonstration of our values
• Full-time and part‑time employees working at least 20 hours a week on a regular basis are eligible to participate in Booz Allen’s benefit programs
• Individuals that do not meet the threshold are only eligible for select offerings, not inclusive of health benefits

Salary at Booz Allen is determined by various factors, including but not limited to location, the individual’s particular combination of education, knowledge, skills, competencies, and experience, as well as contract‑specific affordability and organizational requirements. The projected compensation range for this position is $112,800.00 to $257,000.00 (annualized USD). The estimate displayed represents the typical salary range for this position and is just one component of Booz Allen’s total compensation package for employees. This posting will close within 90 days from the Posting Date.

Identity Statement

As part of the hiring process, we will ask you to complete an identity verification process that leverages advanced biometrics and artificial intelligence to ensure authenticity and protect against identity fraud. You are expected to be on camera during interviews and assessments. We reserve the right to take your picture to verify your identity and prevent fraud.

Candidate AI Usage Policy

AI is a part of our daily work at Booz Allen, and we are committed to the responsible and ethical use of AI tools. However, we want to ensure a fair candidate process based your own skills and knowledge. As part of this commitment, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or other tools to assist with responses during interviews (whether in-person or virtual) is prohibited unless permission is explicitly provided.

Work Model

Our people‑first culture prioritizes the benefits of collaboration. To support engagement and effective communication, employees working virtually are generally expected to have their cameras on during meetings.

• Remote: If this position is listed as remote, there may still be occasions when you are required to work in person at a Booz Allen or customer facility.
• Hybrid: If this position is listed as hybrid, you will be expected to work from a Booz Allen or customer facility, in alignment with your leadership's expectations and the needs of the role.
• Onsite: If this position is listed as onsite, work will primarily be performed full-time at a customer facility, where employees will collaborate directly with colleagues and customers as required by the role.

Commitment to Non-Discrimination

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to disability, status as a protected veteran or any other status protected by applicable federal, state, local, or international law.