Software Engineer V, Applied ML Research

The Robot Age; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Pickle Robot is hiring a senior applied ML researcher to own how its truck-unloading robot decides what to grasp and how to grasp it. The posting describes a small team working at the intersection of classical robotics and neural networks.

This is staff-level research focused on applied ML for physical robot manipulation, with ownership of a hard real-world problem and measurable impact on logistics operations.

Qualifications

• Deep experience with ML systems and real robot platforms.
• Strong judgment about manipulation, grasping, or physical AI methods.
• Ability to choose approaches independently in a senior technical seat.

Responsibilities

• Set direction for grasp selection and manipulation ML in warehouse robots.
• Fuse classical robotics methods with neural-network-based approaches.
• Work on real systems that unload trucks and containers alongside warehouse teams.
• Help expand autonomy toward broader logistics workflows over time.

Job description

What the role actually is

Pickle Robot is hiring a senior applied ML researcher to own how its truck-unloading robot decides what to grasp and how to grasp it. The posting describes a small team working at the intersection of classical robotics and neural networks.

This is a staff-level software title, but the job is explicitly about applied ML research for physical robot manipulation.

What you would work on

• Set direction for grasp selection and manipulation ML in warehouse robots
• Fuse classical robotics methods with neural-network-based approaches
• Work on real systems that unload trucks and containers alongside warehouse teams
• Help expand autonomy toward broader logistics workflows over time

What they are asking for

• Deep experience with ML systems and real robot platforms
• Strong judgment about manipulation, grasping, or physical AI methods
• Ability to choose approaches independently in a senior technical seat
• Interest in practical robotics problems inside logistics environments

Why this one is worth a look

Truck unloading is unglamorous but brutally real robotics. Pickle's role is compelling because it gives one person unusually clear ownership of a hard manipulation problem with immediate operational consequences.