Postdoctoral Researcher, Human Aware Interaction Learning

Toyota Research Institute; Cambridge (MA); On-site; USD 137,000 - 197,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

401(k) plan

Paid time off

Annual bonus

Parental leave

Job summary

Toyota Research Institute in Cambridge, MA seeks a postdoctoral researcher to advance computational and machine learning aspects of human-robot interaction, focusing on foundation models for HRI and shared autonomy in robotic manipulation.

The role emphasizes publishing in top venues (ICRA, CVPR, NeurIPS, HRI) and collaboration with our robotics and AI teams, offering access to extensive research resources and a path toward an academic or industry leadership trajectory.

Qualifications

• PhD in ML/AI, robotics, human-centric AI, or computer vision by end date.
• Strong publications record in top ML/robotics venues.
• Experience training deep learning models in PyTorch or TensorFlow.

Responsibilities

• Perform research and publish on human-robot interaction topics at top venues.
• Explore computational and cognitive phenomena with a team of researchers.
• From inception to validation, develop and test new approaches.

Skills

Python

Deep learning

Reinforcement learning

Publications

Education

PhD in ML/AI/Robotics or related field

Tools

PyTorch

TensorFlow

Job description

At Toyota Research Institute (TRI), we’re on a mission to improve the quality of human life. We’re developing new tools and capabilities to amplify the human experience. To lead this transformative shift in mobility, we’ve built a world-class team advancing the state of the art in AI, robotics, driving, and material sciences.

The Opportunity

Our team at Toyota Research Institute is looking for a motivated and capable postdoc to conduct research on the computational and machine learning aspects of human-robot interaction. Areas of interest include applying foundation models to human-robot interaction, with an emphasis on understanding human-robot collaboration and how it evolves as foundation models become increasingly central to robotic manipulation.

We’re looking for a postdoc with a solution driven attitude who can partner closely with our research team and turn ideas into impactful results. Relevant background topics include robot foundation models (e.g., VLAs, WAMs), imitation/reinforcement learning, leveraging language conditioning in trajectory planning/prediction, and decision‑making under uncertainty, as well as human‑machine teaming/shared control.

The Challenge

In this project, we’re exploring novel approaches to efficiently learn how humans and robots collaborate. Our overall goal is to create AI approaches that challenge more traditional approaches to novel interactions with a human collaborator and enable the development of new embodied interactive policies.

The project will be focused on researching a new approach in a specific sub‑area of the overall goal, towards publications in top‑tier conferences, well‑matched for a postdoc that is looking for an additional year of research before beginning a faculty position, or a more experienced existing faculty member looking to take a year‑long sabbatical with us. The fellowship will be in our Cambridge, MA research center, where you will be working with researchers on meaningful research problems, with access to the resources needed to pursue ambitious projects and publications. Applicants with relevant publications in these fields are highly encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

• Perform research and publish on relevant topics in appropriate venues. Depending on the exact project outcome, publication target venues include, e.g., ICRA, CVPR, NeurIPS, and HRI. Publication emphasis is on how novel representations allow robots to learn to interact with humans towards long‑term shared autonomy in a data‑efficient, robust, and explainable way, with results in our teams’ problems and domain of interest.
• Exploration of both computational and cognitive phenomena, working with a team of researchers to create new approaches for understanding, predicting, and interacting with humans.
• Work from approach inception and ideation to validation of the developed approaches.

Qualifications

• Ph.D in related fields (by end date) - ML/AI, robotics, human‑centric AI, or computer vision. Some experience with robot systems is needed.
• Strong publications record in top ML/robotics venues. Specific areas: robot foundation models and their use for human interaction, ML and synthetic data for human‑collaborative embodied reasoning, imitation/reinforcement learning, and learning‑based shared control and planning for human interactions.
• Coding: Python, experience working in a team on joint scientific projects. Experience training deep learning models in e.g., Pytorch/TensorFlow.
• An ideal candidate can refine a topic and execute a scientific research plan in collaboration with other researchers.

The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $136,800and $196,650/year for Massachusetts-based roles. Base pay offered will depend on multiple individualized factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate's experience, skills, job‑related knowledge, and market location. TRI offers a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) eligibility, paid time off benefits (including vacation, sick time, and parental leave), and an annual cash bonus structure. Additional details regarding these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

TRI is fueled by a diverse and inclusive community of people with unique backgrounds, education and life experiences. We are dedicated to fostering an innovative and collaborative environment by living the values that are an essential part of our culture. We believe diversity makes us stronger and are proud to provide Equal Employment Opportunity for all, without regard to an applicant’s race, color, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, religion, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state or local laws.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment.