Research Engineer, VLA Models Job at 1X Technologies (Palo Alto)

AI Research Engineer, VLA Models

As a Research Engineer on the Vision-Language Action (VLA) team, you will be res...

Location

United States , Palo Alto

Salary:

180000.00 - 300000.00 USD / Year

1X Technologies

Expiration Date

Until further notice

Requirements

Strong programming skills in Python and familiarity with build systems like Bazel
Experience using deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch
Proficiency in simulation environments like Isaac Sim or MuJoCo
Deep understanding of generalization in autonomous systems
Experience designing and validating evaluation metrics in real or simulated environments
Ability to work cross-functionally with controls, QA, and data teams to operationalize models

Job Responsibility

Take end-to-end ownership of autonomous capability development: data review, model design, deployment, and fleet performance monitoring
Train NEO to perform whole-body manipulation and navigation tasks in unfamiliar environments
Design robust evaluation metrics to support scalable model pre-training
Experiment with cutting-edge vision-language and generative model techniques to predict robot actions
Collaborate with controls, QA, and data teams to deploy reinforcement learning policies to the production fleet

What we offer

Equity
Health, dental, and vision insurance
401(k) with company match
Paid time off and holidays

Fulltime

Machine Learning Research Engineer - Robotics

Scale’s Robotics business unit is dedicated to solving the data bottleneck in Ph...

Location

United States , San Francisco

Salary:

218400.00 - 273000.00 USD / Year

Scale

Expiration Date

Until further notice

Requirements

Practical experience building training VLA models and/or building robotics data
3+ years of relevant industry experience in areas relating to: robotics, computer vision, embodied AI, sim-to-real, imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and vision language actions models
PhD or equivalent experience in Machine Learning or Robotics
A track record of published research in robotics
Experience conducting data collection and performing evaluations
Strong written and verbal communication skills and the ability to work with cross-functional teams and customers
Intellectual curiosity, empathy, and ability to operate with a high degree of autonomy

Job Responsibility

Collaborate closely with Robotics customers to drive the industry forward in using VLA data
Develop ML pipelines to train/fine-tune models using Scale’s data
Conduct research on robotics data collection, cross-embodiment training, and policy fine-tuning
Develop novel methods for evaluating VLA models, including new robotics industry benchmarks
Partner with cross-functional stakeholders and Scale’s customers to improve data collection
Collaborate with product teams to bring ML outcomes to Scale’s platform

What we offer

Comprehensive health, dental and vision coverage
retirement benefits
a learning and development stipend
generous PTO
equity based compensation
may be eligible for additional benefits such as a commuter stipend

Fulltime

Staff Research Scientist - VLM / VLA

At General Motors, our product teams are redefining mobility. Through a human-ce...

Location

United States , Mountain View

Salary:

218800.00 - 335300.00 USD / Year

General Motors

Expiration Date

Until further notice

Requirements

Ph.D. in Machine Learning, Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field
5+ years of experience in AI/ML research and applied development
Deep expertise in modern ML architectures (transformers, generative AI, multimodal systems)
Strong programming skills in Python
Excellent communication, collaboration, and mentoring abilities, comfortable influencing technical strategy and guiding ML excellence across the organization

Job Responsibility

Research, design, and prototype advanced Vision-Language Models and Vision-Language-Action foundational models tailored for real-time semantic understanding and behavioral prediction in autonomous driving
Drive the technical strategy for onboard model optimization, leading initiatives in model quantization, pruning, knowledge distillation, and compilation to ensure high-parameter models execute with ultra-low latency on vehicle edge hardware
Advance multimodal alignment techniques, ensuring seamless integration of camera, radar, LiDAR, and textual/logical prompts into unified foundational architectures
Influence technical roadmaps and shape strategic machine learning priorities that align with safety requirements, core product milestones, and next-generation vehicle launches
Provide technical mentorship and long-term vision to a multidisciplinary group of machine learning engineers, software developers, and hardware specialists
Foster internal innovation by collaborating closely with perception, planning, and infrastructure teams to integrate foundational models into the core autonomous software stack
Represent the company externally to the global scientific community by publishing original research, securing patents, and presenting at top-tier artificial intelligence and robotics conferences

What we offer

Medical
dental
vision
Health Savings Account
Flexible Spending Accounts
retirement savings plan
sickness and accident benefits
life insurance
paid vacation & holidays
tuition assistance programs

Fulltime

Applied Researcher

Aurora’s mission is to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, q...

Location

United States , Mountain View; Pittsburgh; San Francisco; Seattle

Salary:

Not provided

Aurora Innovation

Expiration Date

Until further notice

Requirements

PhD Graduate in AI, Computer Science, or Robotics (Top-tier research lab background)
Deep expertise in Vision-Language Models (VLM) and Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models
Hands-on experience with 'jagged edges'
Practical researcher: Ability to translate complex papers into production-ready code
Collaborative Guide: Willingness to mentor existing team members and bridge the knowledge gap
Excitement for large-scale infrastructure and supercomputing environments (e.g., Aurora)
Architectural Creativity: Ability to rethink and redo entire model architectures rather than just fine-tuning
Strong programming skills in Python
Preference for a strong depth programming in modern C++

Job Responsibility

Architectural Exploration: Deep dive into VLM/VLA architectures to determine their viability for our specific problem sets
Technical Mentorship: Act as the subject matter expert and guide for an exceptionally capable engineering team eager to move into this space
Practical Implementation: Bridge the gap between high-level academic theory and practical, scalable applications
Innovation: Redesign and optimize model architectures to leverage high-performance computing environments like Aurora

Member of Technical Staff, Microsoft Robotics (Robot Learning)

Microsoft's Discovery and Quantum (MDQ) division develops and delivers advanced ...

Location

United States , Redmond

Salary:

102100.00 - 202200.00 USD / Year

Microsoft Corporation

Expiration Date

Until further notice

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 2+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python OR equivalent experience
Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include, but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Job Responsibility

Develop and train end-to-end robot learning models, including vision-language-action (VLA) family of models, imitation learning policies, and reinforcement learning agents for manipulation, locomotion, and navigation tasks
Build, maintain, and optimize data pipelines for robot learning, including collection infrastructure for teleoperation demonstrations, data preprocessing, augmentation, quality filtering, and dataset versioning
Train machine learning and deep learning models on GPU computing clusters, implementing distributed training, hyperparameter optimization, curriculum learning, and training infrastructure automation
Deploy trained models to physical robot platforms, conducting real-world evaluation, debugging sim-to-real transfer issues, and iterating on model performance based on deployment feedback
Implement and maintain evaluation frameworks for robot learning models, including standardized task benchmarks, success rate tracking, generalization testing across objects and environments, and regression detection
Collaborate with robotics researchers, simulation engineers, and platform engineers to improve the end-to-end model development lifecycle, from data collection through deployment and monitoring
Write production-quality code in Python (including NumPy, PyTorch, JAX) that is well-tested, maintainable, and extensible, adhering to team coding standards and best practices
Review code and technical designs, providing feedback to develop other engineers' skills and drive adherence to coding patterns, security practices, and engineering excellence standards
Stay current with state-of-the-art research in robot learning, foundation models for robotics, and physical AI, evaluating new model technologies and techniques for adoption and integration into the platform
Contribute to internal knowledge sharing through technical documentation, brown bag sessions, blog posts, and mentoring of team members

Fulltime

Applied Researcher

Location

United States , Seattle

Salary:

Not provided

Aurora Innovation

Expiration Date

Until further notice

Requirements

PhD Graduate in AI, Computer Science, or Robotics (Top-tier research lab background)
Deep expertise in Vision-Language Models (VLM) and Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models
Hands-on experience with 'jagged edges'—knowing where current architectures fail and how to troubleshoot them
Practical researcher: Ability to translate complex papers into production-ready code
Collaborative Guide: Willingness to mentor existing team members and bridge the knowledge gap
Excitement for large-scale infrastructure and supercomputing environments (e.g., Aurora)
Architectural Creativity: Ability to rethink and redo entire model architectures rather than just fine-tuning
Strong programming skills in Python
Preference for a strong depth programming in modern C++

Job Responsibility

Architectural Exploration: Deep dive into VLM/VLA architectures to determine their viability for our specific problem sets
Technical Mentorship: Act as the subject matter expert and guide for an exceptionally capable engineering team eager to move into this space
Practical Implementation: Bridge the gap between high-level academic theory and practical, scalable applications
Innovation: Redesign and optimize model architectures to leverage high-performance computing environments like Aurora

Fulltime

Applied Researcher

Who we are: Aurora’s mission is to deliver the benefits of self-driving technolo...

Location

United States , San Francisco

Salary:

Not provided

Aurora Innovation

Expiration Date

Until further notice

Requirements

PhD Graduate in AI, Computer Science, or Robotics (Top-tier research lab background)
Deep expertise in Vision-Language Models (VLM) and Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models
Hands-on experience with 'jagged edges'—knowing where current architectures fail and how to troubleshoot them
Practical researcher: Ability to translate complex papers into production-ready code
Collaborative Guide: Willingness to mentor existing team members and bridge the knowledge gap
Excitement for large-scale infrastructure and supercomputing environments (e.g., Aurora)
Architectural Creativity: Ability to rethink and redo entire model architectures rather than just fine-tuning
Strong programming skills in Python
Preference for a strong depth programming in modern C++

Job Responsibility

Architectural Exploration: Deep dive into VLM/VLA architectures to determine their viability for our specific problem sets
Technical Mentorship: Act as the subject matter expert and guide for an exceptionally capable engineering team eager to move into this space
Practical Implementation: Bridge the gap between high-level academic theory and practical, scalable applications
Innovation: Redesign and optimize model architectures to leverage high-performance computing environments like Aurora

Applied Researcher

Aurora’s mission is to deliver the benefits of self-driving technology safely, q...

Location

United States , Pittsburgh

Salary:

Not provided

Aurora Innovation

Expiration Date

Until further notice

Requirements

PhD Graduate in AI, Computer Science, or Robotics (Top-tier research lab background)
Deep expertise in Vision-Language Models (VLM) and Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models
Hands-on experience with 'jagged edges'—knowing where current architectures fail and how to troubleshoot them
Practical researcher: Ability to translate complex papers into production-ready code
Collaborative Guide: Willingness to mentor existing team members and bridge the knowledge gap
Excitement for large-scale infrastructure and supercomputing environments (e.g., Aurora)
Architectural Creativity: Ability to rethink and redo entire model architectures rather than just fine-tuning
Strong programming skills in Python
Preference for a strong depth programming in modern C++

Job Responsibility

Architectural Exploration: Deep dive into VLM/VLA architectures to determine their viability for our specific problem sets
Technical Mentorship: Act as the subject matter expert and guide for an exceptionally capable engineering team eager to move into this space
Practical Implementation: Bridge the gap between high-level academic theory and practical, scalable applications
Innovation: Redesign and optimize model architectures to leverage high-performance computing environments like Aurora

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Research Engineer, VLA Models

Job Description

Job Responsibility

Requirements

What we offer

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