AmazonApplied Scientist - ML and Robotics
Amazon is hiring an Applied Scientist - ML and Robotics. It pays $143k-$193k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.
Level's read on this job
- Level rates this applied scientist role Builds AI ●●●●: the job is building AI systems.
- The posting mentions Python, Ros and C among its tools and skills.
- Level classes it as a senior role.
- Amazon has 20,000+ other open roles on Level.
AI in this role
Applied scientist designing machine learning and data-driven control policies for robotic manipulation systems.
We are seeking an Applied Scientist to develop manipulation controllers for robotic systems operating in contact-rich, uncertain environments. In this role, you will design force-aware control strategies grounded in impedance/admittance frameworks and augment them with data-driven policy learning to achieve robust, adaptive manipulation behaviors. You will combine physics-based modeling, control-theoretic design, and machine learning to build manipulation capabilities that generalize across objects, tasks, and operational conditions.
You will collaborate closely with experts in perception, machine learning, motion planning, controls, and software engineering to deliver solutions that perform reliably on real hardware at production scale. As part of this role, you will study and extend relevant academic and industry research in robot learning and manipulation, prototype and validate learned policies in simulation and on hardware, and transition successful approaches into production systems. Successful candidates demonstrate strong intuition for physical systems, experience applying ML to robotics problems, and the ability to reason about failure modes, edge cases, and deployment constraints in contact-rich manipulation. Clear communication, hands-on experimentation, and a bias toward practical impact are essential.
Key job responsibilities
- Research, design, implement, and evaluate machine learning–based manipulation policies for contact-rich tasks, integrating learning with feedback control, estimation, and motion planning.
- Develop learning frameworks that leverage simulation, real-world data, and hybrid physics- and data-driven models to enable robust agency interaction, grasping, insertion, and object handling.
- Design and execute experiments in simulation and on hardware to train, validate, and stress-test learned manipulation policies under real-world variability and uncertainty.
- Collaborate with software engineering teams to deliver scalable, real-time, and maintainable implementations of learning-based manipulation algorithms in production robotic systems.
- Partner with cross-functional teams across perception, hardware, systems engineering, science, and operations to transition learned policies from research prototypes to reliable, production-ready capabilities across Amazon Robotics platforms.
A day in the life
Amazon offers a full range of benefits that support you and eligible family members, including domestic partners and their children. Benefits can vary by location, the number of regularly scheduled hours you work, length of employment, and job status such as seasonal or temporary employment. The benefits that generally apply to regular, full-time employees include:
1. Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
2. Maternity and Parental Leave Options
3. Paid Time Off (PTO)
4. 401(k) Plan
If you are not sure that every qualification on the list above describes you exactly, we'd still love to hear from you! At Amazon, we value people with unique backgrounds, experiences, and skillsets. If you’re passionate about this role and want to make an impact on a global scale, please apply!
Basic qualifications
- PhD, or Master's degree and 4+ years of science, technology, engineering or related field experience
- Experience in patents or publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience designing, running, and analyzing experiments in simulation and on real robotic hardware.
Preferred qualifications
- Experience developing manipulation policies for contact-rich tasks such as grasping, insertion, force-controlled interaction, or object manipulation.
- Strong foundation in robot dynamics, control, and state estimation, and experience integrating these with data-driven methods.
- Hands-on experience with reinforcement learning, imitation learning, or hybrid learning–control approaches applied to robotics.
- Familiarity with simulation tools and sim-to-real transfer for robotic manipulation.
- Experience collaborating with software engineering teams to transition research prototypes into scalable, real-time production systems.
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, MA, North Reading - 142,800.00 - 193,200.00 USD annually
How we rate this
Applied Scientist - ML and Robotics at Amazon rates 90 out of 100 for how much of the daily work is AI. That makes it Builds AI (AI Level 4 of 4). The level is about AI in the job, not seniority.
Builds AI. The job is building AI systems.
- ●●●● Builds AI80 to 100
- ●●●○ Works on AI60 to 79
- ●●○○ Uses AI40 to 59
- ●○○○ Little AI0 to 39
Levels come from how often the tools, models and workflows of the role are named in the posting itself. Read the description and count the AI tools, models and workflows it names.
Prepare for this job
Built from this posting and from similar jobs on Level.
Skills and AI tools this role asks for
Also common in applied scientist jobs at this level
Pay
- This job starts at
- $143k
- Typical applied scientist job
- $167k
This posting starts 15% below the typical applied scientist job. See applied scientist jobs
Questions you could be asked
- Tell me about a project where machine learning was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where robotics was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where reinforcement learning was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where control theory was part of your work. What did you do?
- Tell me about a project where applied science was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Machine learning, Robotics, Reinforcement learning, Control Theory, and Applied Science. An applicant tracking system matches the wording, not the idea.
- Attach one line of real, concrete experience to at least one of them. A tool named with nothing behind it rarely survives a human read.
- Lead with what you built, trained or shipped. This role is judged on the AI system itself, not the tools around it.
Get your CV reviewed before you apply
Send your CV and the role you want next. Your review arrives by email within 3 days.
Get new applied scientist jobs (Builds AI ●●●●) by email
One email a week, each job rated for how much AI is in the work. No recruiter spam, unsubscribe in one click.
Free.
Similar roles
Research roles that build AI, at other companies.
What kind of AI work fits you?
Answer 12 practical questions in about three minutes. Get a simple profile, the work it points to, and live roles to explore next.
Find my next step