Member of Technical Staff, Microsoft Robotics (Human-Robot-AI Interaction) Job at Microsoft Corporation (Redmond)

Job Description

We are hiring a Member of Technical Staff, Microsoft Robotics (Human-Robot-AI Interaction) at the Senior level, to lead the design of human-robot-AI interaction and interfaces across Microsoft's robotics platform. This role will define how people communicate with, instruct, and collaborate alongside robots and AI agents in shared physical workspaces. The designer, a.k.a. creative technologist, will shape interaction paradigms spanning natural language command interfaces, augmented reality overlays, gesture and spatial input, shared autonomy handoff patterns, and trust calibration mechanisms that help users understand what AI-enhanced robots are doing, why, and when to intervene. This is a foundational role in establishing Microsoft's design language for physical AI experiences.

Job Responsibility

Design end-to-end human-robot interaction (HRI) and human-AI teaming experiences, including natural language task instruction interfaces, shared autonomy control panels, intent and status communication displays, and trust calibration mechanisms
Create wireframes, journey maps, user jobs and scenarios, task flows, and personas for diverse users who interact with robots, ranging from factory floor operators and warehouse associates to lab researchers and first responders
Develop interaction models for multimodal communication between humans and robots, including voice, gesture, gaze, spatial input (AR/MR), touchscreen and future multi-sensory paradigms, ensuring seamless transitions between modalities
Produce visual designs from concept to delivery for robot status communication (e.g., intent signaling, confidence indicators, uncertainty visualization), user-facing explainability surfaces, and collaborative task-handoff interfaces
Build and validate interactive prototypes, including mixed-modality and immersive experiences, that demonstrate human-robot-agent collaboration concepts to stakeholders and customers
Collaborate with program managers, software engineers, robotics researchers, and AI safety experts to define and iterate on HRI product features, ensuring safety, transparency, and appropriate trust calibration are embedded from the outset
Contribute to and lead development of a robotics-specific design system for HRI patterns (e.g., robot communication modalities, autonomy level indicators, handoff protocols, error recovery flows) aligned with Microsoft's Fluent design language
Communicate a compelling, convincing product story about human-robot-agent collaboration to leadership and cross-disciplinary audiences, adjusting narrative depending on the audience
Leverage ideation methodologies to lead design solutions for complex HRI products involving many constraints (e.g., real-time responsiveness, safety-critical contexts, diverse user expertise levels, variable robot morphologies)
Take ownership of interaction design sub-systems from concept to delivery, working closely with hardware engineers to ensure feasibility of physical interaction affordances and advocate for user experience benefits during trade-off discussions
Provide guidance to the team, ensuring full understanding of the original design vision for human-robot-AI interaction and linking design decisions to established user research and program goals

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 5+ years experience working in product or service design
OR Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 4+ years experience working in product or service design
OR equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems)
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role
Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter

Nice to have

Bachelor's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 8+ years experience working in product or service design
OR Master's Degree in Industrial Design, Product Design, Human Computer Interaction, User Experience, Interaction Design, or related field AND 6+ years experience working in product or service design
OR equivalent experience (e.g., demonstrated experience working in product or service design or using design thinking to solve problems)
Experience designing human-robot interaction, human-AI teaming, or shared autonomy interfaces for robotics, autonomous vehicles, drones, or intelligent physical systems
Demonstrated portfolio of multimodal interaction design, including voice, gesture, AR/MR, or spatial computing experiences
Familiarity with HRI research concepts such as trust calibration, transparency and explainability in autonomous systems, shared mental models, and human factors in safety-critical operations
Experience with 3D prototyping tools (Unity, Unreal Engine, Figma, or equivalent) for spatial and mixed-reality interface concepts
Understanding of inclusive design, accessibility standards (WCAG), and designing for diverse user populations with varying levels of technical expertise
Published research, patents, or demonstrated thought leadership in human-robot interaction, human-AI collaboration, or physical AI interface design

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Member of Technical Staff, Microsoft Robotics (Human-Robot-AI Interaction)

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