VP of Robotics Research

SaidGig; New York (NY); Remote; USD 1,200,000 - 6,000,000; Full time

Job summary

SaidGig is seeking a leader to drive the research agenda for Physical AI, shaping ambitious work at the intersection of robotics, embodied agents, learning, data, evaluation, and automation.

You will set direction across Physical AI, build a high-caliber research team, collaborate with AI and robotics labs, and publish consequential research that advances intelligent systems in the real world.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in robotics, embodied AI, robot learning, autonomous systems.
• Deep expertise in Physical AI and intelligent agents.
• Strong intuition for learning and agentic systems; robotics software/data/research skills.

Responsibilities

• Define the Physical AI research agenda and identify high-leverage opportunities across robotics and embodied agents.
• Lead development of agents connecting foundation models to robots, machines, and tools.
• Build and guide a high-caliber research team; publish consequential work.
• Collaborate with AI and robotics labs on complex Physical AI challenges.
• Develop scalable data generation, evaluation benchmarks, and reusable research tooling.
• Recruit, mentor, and lead researchers and engineers; drive impactful outcomes.

Skills

Robotics

Embodied AI

Robot learning

Autonomous systems

Physical AI

Learning systems

Agentic systems

Robotics software

Robotics data

Robotics research

Job description

Lead the research agenda for Physical AI, creating intelligent systems that can perceive, reason about, and act in the physical world. This role shapes ambitious work at the intersection of robotics, embodied agents, learning, data, evaluation, and physical-world research and development automation.

Role Overview

You will set research direction across Physical AI, remain closely involved with models and physical systems, build a high-caliber research team, and collaborate with leading AI and robotics labs on complex Physical AI challenges.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the Physical AI research agenda and identify high-leverage opportunities across robotics, embodied agents, learning, data, evaluation, and physical-world automation.
• Develop agents that connect foundation models to robots, machines, instruments, and other physical interfaces.
• Lead work on general-purpose robot learning, including vision-language-action models, imitation learning, reinforcement learning, world models, and multimodal policies.
• Research how demonstrations, trajectories, sensor streams, environments, and supervision signals improve learning and generalization.
• Build scalable interaction-data generation methods using human demonstration, teleoperation, autonomous rollouts, simulation, and hybrid human-agent workflows.
• Create rigorous benchmarks for manipulation, spatial reasoning, planning, tool use, robustness, safety, and transfer across tasks and embodiments.
• Study how simulated and real-world experience can be combined, including limitations in simulation-to-reality transfer.
• Develop agents that support scientific and engineering workflows such as simulation, experimentation, design, fabrication, and laboratory systems.
• Create reusable datasets, environments, simulators, hardware testbeds, evaluation infrastructure, and research tools.
• Recruit, develop, and lead researchers and engineers; collaborate with leading labs; and publish consequential research.

Qualifications

• Significant experience in robotics, embodied AI, robot learning, autonomous systems, or a related field.
• Deep expertise in Physical AI.
• Strong intuition for learning systems and agentic systems.
• Skills in robotics software, robotics data, and robotics research.

Work Terms

Full-time, remote role.

Compensation

Annual compensation of $1, 200, 000 to $6, 000, 000.