Senior AI Engineer - Physical

uofl; United States; On-site; USD 124,000 - 186,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Louisville is seeking a Senior AI Engineer to research and build Physical AI systems that move intelligence from isolated servers into the real world. You will work on real-time autonomous systems across clinical imaging pipelines, robotics, and cyber-physical infrastructure, with focus on medical imaging, defense, and industry applications.

Responsibilities include developing advanced computer-vision models, building world-models, and deploying AI onto edge hardware and

Qualifications

• Master's degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or Data Science with at least 2 years of relevant experience.
• Developer of AI systems with hands-on work in physical AI, robotics, or embodied AI.

Responsibilities

• Develop advanced computer-vision and foundation models for medical imaging, defect detection, and domain-specific tasks.
• Build world-models and robotics systems enabling sim-to-real transfer and edge deployment.
• Engineer cyber-physical and distributed systems with on-device inference and multimodal sensor fusion.
• Deploy AI on edge hardware, drones, and sensor networks for real-time data collection and action.
• Apply Sense → Understand → Decide → Act pipeline to healthcare imaging, defense, and agriculture.
• Produce open-source tools, testbeds, and peer-reviewed research.
• Operate in secure environments with HIPAA/NIST 800-53 controls.

Skills

Advanced computer vision

Foundation models

Self-supervised learning

World models & robotics

Edge AI & on-device inference

Multimodal sensor fusion

Cybersecurity practices

Python programming

ROS

Open-source contributions

Education

Master's degree in Computer Engineering/CS/Data Science

Tools

ROS

PyTorch

TensorFlow

CUDA

Job description

Department:

Location:

Non-Campus Other Time Type:

Full time Worker Type:

Regular Job Req ID:

R109107

Minimum Requirements:

Master's degree or higher in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or Data Science and two (2) years of relevant experience. Grade 13 (Salaried)

Position Description

The University of Louisville is seeking to hire a Senior AI Engineer to research and build Physical AI systems that move intelligence from isolated servers into the real world, systems that sense, understand, decide, and act autonomously. The role translates frontier AI into deployable systems across clinical imaging pipelines, autonomous robotics, and cyber-physical infrastructure, combining advanced computer vision and foundation/world models with robotics and edge computing. Highest-impact application areas include medical & healthcare, government & defense, and industry & agriculture, wherever real-time, autonomous physical execution is critical.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop advanced computer-vision and foundation models, including self-supervised learning that learns from raw, unstructured data and adapts rapidly to high-stakes, domain‑specific tasks (e.g., medical imaging, defect detection).
• Build world-model and robotics systems that develop an intuitive understanding of physics and space, enabling robots to anticipate outcomes, adapt in unpredictable environments, and transfer from simulation to reality.
• Engineer cyber-physical and distributed systems: on-device (edge) inference for instant reflexes without connectivity, multimodal sensor fusion (camera, thermal, radar), and fleet intelligence that shares learning across devices.
• Deploy AI onto edge hardware, drones, mobile robots, and sensor networks, for real‑time autonomous data collection and action.
• Apply the Sense → Understand → Decide → Act pipeline to concrete deployments in healthcare imaging/monitoring, defense, and precision agriculture/industry.
• Produce open‑source tools, testbeds, and peer‑reviewed research.
• Work within secure environments that handle sensitive data: apply cybersecurity best practices and institutional security and compliance controls (e.g., HIPAA, NIST 800‑53) across every system built and operated.

Preferred Qualifications

• At least 2 years of direct, hands‑on experience in physical AI, robotics, or embodied AI, computer vision, robotics, and/or edge/embedded deployment (i.e., 2+ years working in this specific role).
• Demonstrated expertise in computer vision and deep learning.
• Hands‑on experience with robotics and/or embedded/edge computing, with strong programming skills (e.g., Python) and modern ML frameworks.
• Proven ability to work in secure environments that handle sensitive, confidential data, with a strong focus on cybersecurity. Must follow institutional security, privacy, and compliance controls (e.g., HIPAA, NIST 800‑53) and apply secure engineering practices to protect sensitive data.
• Foundation models and self‑supervised learning; medical imaging (CT/WSI).
• Robotics middleware (e.g., ROS), physics simulation, and sim‑to‑real transfer.
• Edge/embedded deployment, multimodal sensor fusion, and UAV/autonomous platforms.
• Record of open‑source contributions and peer‑reviewed publications.

Competencies

• Advanced computer vision & foundation models
• Self‑supervised learning
• World models & robotics (sim‑to‑real)
• Edge AI & on‑device inference
• Multimodal sensor fusion
• Cyber-physical & distributed (fleet) systems
• Cybersecurity & secure handling of sensitive data

Target Compensation Maximum: $185,857.00 Target Compensation Minimum: $123,870.00 Compensation will be commensurate to candidate experience.

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Louisville is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. The University strives to provide equal employment opportunity on the basis of merit and without unlawful discrimination on the basis of race, sex, age, color, national origin, ethnicity, creed, religion, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or expression, veteran status, marital status, or pregnancy. In accordance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Vietnam Era Veteran Readjustment Act of 1974, the University prohibits job discrimination of individuals with disabilities, Vietnam era veterans, qualified special disabled veterans, recently separated veterans, and other protected veterans. The University acknowledges its obligations to ensure affirmative steps are taken to ensure equal employment opportunities for all employees and applicants for employment. It is the policy of the University that no employee or applicant for employment be subject to unlawful discrimination in terms of recruitment, hiring, promotion, contract, contract renewal, tenure, compensation, benefits, and/or working conditions. No employee or applicant for employment is required to endorse or condemn a specific ideology, political viewpoint, or social viewpoint to be eligible for