Principal Applied Scientist, Mobile Manipulation Robotics

Amazon Science; North Reading (MA); On-site; USD 199,000 - 269,000; Full time

Job summary

Amazon Robotics is seeking a technical lead in North Reading, MA, to own the whole-body planning, control, and optimization stack for the Phoenix robot. You will design and ship motion planners and controllers coordinating mobile base, torso, arm, and end-effector as a unified system for autonomous manipulation in fulfillment environments.

You will architect pipelines for task-and-motion planning and trajectory optimization, develop real-time controllers (QP-based, MPC), and integrate with the

Qualifications

• PhD in Robotics, CS, Mechanical Engineering, or related field with 7+ years post-degree experience, or Master’s with 12+ years equivalent.
• Experience deploying real-time controllers on physical robotic hardware.
• Ability to influence technical strategy across multiple teams and organizations.

Responsibilities

• Own the whole-body planning, control, and optimization stack for the Phoenix robot.
• Design and ship motion planners and controllers coordinating all DOFs as a unified system.
• Extend safety architecture ensuring planning-to-execution constraint satisfaction.

Skills

Python

C++

Publications track record

Cross-team influence

Education

PhD in Robotics/CS/ME

Master's with 12+ years experience

Tools

Job description

Description

Amazon Robotics is revolutionizing warehouse automation at unprecedented scale. We are looking for a technical lead to own the whole-body planning, control, and optimization stack for the Phoenix mobile manipulation robot. In this role, you will design and ship motion planners and controllers that coordinate all of Phoenix's degrees of freedom (mobile base, torso, arm, and end-effector) as a single unified system, enabling smooth, safe, and production-ready autonomous manipulation in Amazon fulfillment environments.

You will architect whole-body motion planning pipelines (task-and-motion planning, trajectory optimization) that generate collision-free, time-efficient trajectories across the full kinematic chain. You will develop and tune real-time whole-body controllers, including QP-based and model-predictive approaches, and integrate them with the Foundry Controller mainline. A key part of the role is ensuring planner-generated trajectories are high-quality enough to train downstream foundation model policies (e.g., π0.5) at scale. You will also extend Phoenix's Control Barrier Function (CBF) safety architecture, guaranteeing constraint satisfaction from planning through execution.

About The Team

Amazon Robotics develops and deploys advanced robotic systems that power Amazon's fulfillment centers worldwide. Our innovations in mobile manipulation, autonomous navigation, and human-robot collaboration are transforming how products move through our network, enabling faster delivery times while creating safer, more ergonomic work environments for our associates.

Basic Qualifications

• PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field, with 7+ years of relevant research experience after degree; or Master's degree with 12+ years of equivalent experience
• Experience developing and deploying real-time controllers on physical robotic hardware
• Demonstrated ability to influence technical strategy across multiple teams and organizations

Preferred Qualifications

• Proficiency in Python and C++ with experience writing production‑grade code
• Proven track record of publications at top-tier venues (e.g., CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, ICRA, RSS, CoRL)
• Experience with real-time perception on resource‑constrained hardware (edge compute, embedded GPUs)
• Track record of building perception systems that generalize across multiple sensor configurations or robot platforms
• Experience with foundation models or large‑scale self‑supervised learning applied to robotics perception

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, MA, North Reading - 198,900.00 - 269,000.00 USD annually