Senior Research Scientist - Manipulation

Field AI; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

FieldAI is seeking a Research Scientist to advance the state-of-the-art in large-scale learned humanoid manipulation. You will develop methods for learned and physically-grounded models, spanning reinforcement learning, imitation learning, multimodal representation learning, cross-embodiment transfer, and beyond.

Working with FieldAI’s research engineers and systems teams, you will design rigorous experiments and validate capabilities on real humanoid robots, ensuring research translates into

Job description

FieldAI is transforming how robots interact with the real world. Our growing R&D team is based in Boston, where we develop risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that tackle the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the potential of embodied intelligence. We take a pragmatic approach that goes beyond off-the-shelf, purely data-driven methods or transformer-only architectures, combining cutting-edge research with real-world deployment. Our solutions are already deployed globally, and we continuously improve model performance through rapid iteration driven by real field use.

We are looking for a Research Scientist to advance the state of the art in large-scale learned humanoid manipulation. In this role, you will develop new methods for learned and physically-grounded models, spanning reinforcement-learning, imitation learning, multimodal representation learning, cross-embodiment transfer, and beyond.

Working within FieldAI’s broader humanoid manipulation roadmap, you will formulate new approaches, design rigorous experiments, and validate resulting capabilities on real humanoid robots. You will work closely with research engineers and systems teams to ensure that research advances translate into scalable, reliable manipulation and loco-manipulation systems.

You will also contribute to FieldAI’s technical direction in robotics foundation models, including how models are architected, trained, evaluated, adapted, and deployed across robotic platforms. This role combines fundamental research with the opportunity to demonstrate meaningful advances on complex real-world robotic systems.

Why Join Field AI?

FieldAI is tackling one of robotics’ hardest problems: deploying robots in unstructured, previously unknown environments. Our Field Foundational Models advance perception, planning, localization, and manipulation with an emphasis on explainability and safety, so our systems can be trusted where it matters most.

You will work alongside a world-class team that values creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring a decade-long track record of real-world deployments, strong performance in DARPA challenges, and experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX.

Our R&D organization is growing and anchored in Boston, with close collaboration across our teams in Southern California and with colleagues around the US and globally.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

Solving problems at this scale takes a team as unique as the mission. We are looking for people who push beyond conventional approaches, enjoy tackling tough and ambiguous questions, and bring interdisciplinary perspective. Our success depends on exceptional AI researchers and engineers, as well as strong software developers, product designers, field deployment experts, and communicators who can turn breakthroughs into real capability.

We are headquartered in Irvine, Southern California, with teammates across the US and around the world. Join us to shape the future of embodied intelligence as part of a fun, close-knit team building systems that work in the real world.

Equal Opportunity

FieldAI celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.