AmazonPrincipal Applied Scientist, Fauna
Amazon is hiring a Principal Applied Scientist, Fauna in Sunnyvale, United States. It pays $229k-$309k 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 listed pay starts 37% above the typical applied scientist posting on Level.
- Level classifies it as a lead role.
- Level lists 22,000+ other open roles at Amazon.
- The role was posted in the last few days.
AI in this role
Operating at the intersection of robotics, machine learning, and human-in-the-loop systems, this role owns the infrastructure and methodologies that connect teleoperation, evaluation, and learning — shaping how policies are validated and how high-quality datasets are generated to accelerate system performance.
Key job responsibilities
What you'll do:
- Build and own evaluation frameworks that measure and stress-test robot behavior across real-world tasks
- Design data collection protocols that generate high-quality datasets to accelerate system performance
- Connect teleoperation, evaluation, and learning systems into cohesive, measurable infrastructure
- Translate ambiguous capability goals into actionable, measurable evaluation systems
What we're looking for:
- A highly experimental, systems-oriented scientist comfortable working across software, robotics, and data pipelines
- Deep expertise in machine learning and robotics, with a track record of building evaluation methodologies
About the team
Fauna Robotics, an Amazon company, is building capable, safe, and genuinely delightful robots for everyday life. Our goal is simple: make robots people actually want to live and interact with in everyday human spaces.
We believe that future won’t arrive until building for robotics becomes far more accessible. Today, too much effort is spent reinventing the fundamentals. We’re changing that by developing tightly integrated hardware and software systems that make it faster, safer, and more intuitive to create real-world robotic products.
Our work spans the full stack: mechanical design, control systems, dynamic modeling, and intelligent software. The focus is not just functionality, but experience. We’re building robots that feel responsive, expressive, and genuinely useful.
At Fauna, you’ll work at the frontier of this space, helping define how robots move, manipulate, and interact with people in natural environments. It’s an opportunity to solve hard problems across hardware and software with a team focused on making robotics accessible and joyful to build.
If you care about making robotics real for everyone and building systems that are as delightful as they are capable, we’re interested in hearing from you.
an opportunity to solve hard problems across hardware and software with a team focused on making robotics accessible and joyful to build.
If you care about making robotics real for everyone and building systems that are as delightful as they are capable, we’re interested in hearing from you.
Basic qualifications
-5+ years of hands-on work in predictive modeling and analysis experience
-PhD in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, or a related technical field
-Experience working in predictive modeling and analysis
-Experience distilling informal customer requirements into problem definitions, dealing with ambiguity and competing objectives
-Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
-Experience with leading experienced scientists as well as having a record of developing junior members from academia or industry to a career track in a business environment
Preferred qualifications
-10+ years of relevant work in industry or academia experience
-Knowledge of problem solving, algorithm design and complexity analysis
-Experience creating novel algorithms and advancing the state of the art
-Have peer-reviewed scientific contributions in premier journals and conferences
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, CA, Sunnyvale - 228,700.00 - 309,400.00 USD annually
How we rate this
Principal Applied Scientist, Fauna at Amazon rates 87 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.
Also common in applied scientist jobs at this level
Pay
- This job starts at
- $229k
- Typical applied scientist job
- $167k
This posting starts 37% above the typical applied scientist job. See applied scientist jobs
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