AmazonApplied Scientist - On-Robot Learning, Amazon Robotics - Vulcan Stow
Amazon is hiring an Applied Scientist - On-Robot Learning, Amazon Robotics - Vulcan Stow in Seattle, United States. It pays $143k-$193k a year and Level rates it ; you can apply on Amazon.
Level's read on this job
- Builds AI ●●●● is how Level rates this applied scientist role: the job is building AI systems.
- Tools and skills the posting cites include Robotics, Simulation Software and machine learning.
- Level classifies it as a senior role.
- Level lists 20,000+ other open roles at Amazon.
AI in this role
Deploy and evaluate learned manipulation policies on physical robots to enable contact-rich robotic tasks at Amazon scale.
We are seeking an Applied Scientist to bring learned manipulation policies to life on real robots. We are creating robots that learn how to push, flip, rearrange, and dexterously insert items with unparalleled robustness, speed, and reliability. Our goal is to deploy robots that will work across Amazon's global network and can handle the full diversity of items that Amazon sells. You will focus on making learned, contact-rich, non-prehensile behaviors work reliably on physical hardware, closing the loop between what a policy does in simulation and how it behaves against real contact, sensing, and dynamics. You will join a small team whose mission reaches beyond any single product: to invent and apply manipulation capabilities that generalize to many future robotics applications. The robots our organization already deploys at scale give you a rare proving ground to test new policies and behaviors on real hardware faster than almost anywhere in the field.
Key job responsibilities
- Deploy and evaluate learned manipulation policies on physical robots, focused on the long tail of diverse, demanding conditions.
- Diagnose the gap between simulated and real behavior, and drive the changes in policies, rewards, sensing, or control that close it.
- Develop tactile, actuation, and contact-aware methods that make non-prehensile manipulation fast, assured, and robust.
- Write production-quality code and own scalable, real-time implementations that run on robots.
- Build the data collection, logging, and evaluation loops that turn real-world experience into policy improvements.
- Partner with scientists and engineers across control, perception, and hardware to move ideas from prototype to demonstrated capability on hardware.
- Represent Amazon Robotics in academia through publications and scientific presentations.
A day in the life
Amazon offers a full range of benefits that assist you and eligible family members, including domestic partners. 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
- 3+ years of building models for business application experience
- 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
- Hands-on experience deploying and evaluating learning-based control or manipulation on physical robots
- Strong background in one or more of: reinforcement learning, learning-based manipulation, contact-rich control, or force/torque control
Preferred qualifications
- Experience in professional software development
- Experience with contact-rich control or manipulation policies, tactile sensing, or compliant control on physical systems
- Experience deploying and supporting complex robotic systems at scale
- Publications in top robotics or machine learning venues (RSS, CoRL, ICRA, IROS, NeurIPS, ICML, etc.)
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, WA, Seattle - 142,800.00 - 193,200.00 USD annually
How we rate this
Applied Scientist - On-Robot Learning, Amazon Robotics - Vulcan Stow 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?
- Walk me through a computer vision problem you solved, from raw data to a deployed model.
- Tell me about a project where python was part of your work. What did you do?
Adapt your resume
- List these exact terms on your resume: Machine learning, Robotics, Reinforcement learning, Computer vision, and Python. 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.
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