Research Scientist (Robotics)

Location: Seattle, Washington; expected to work from the Seattle offices. On-site requirements vary by position and team.

Base salary: $167,030–$260,570 per year, plus bonus plans.

Company

hirify.global is a Seattle-based nonprofit AI research institute developing foundational AI research, open models, data, robotics, and other technologies intended to create real-world impact.

What you will do

• Develop and investigate core research problems in foundation models for robotics.
• Experiment with large-scale simulation tools and real-world robots.
• Research robot manipulation, planning and control, reinforcement and imitation learning, simulation environments, sim-to-real transfer, world models, and robot foundation models.
• Develop open methods, datasets, benchmarks, and models for robotics research.
• Lead research projects, publish and present scientific papers, and collaborate with universities and other research organizations.
• Mentor interns and pre-doctoral candidates while working with AI researchers and software engineers.

Requirements

• Typically PhD-level foundation in robot manipulation, planning and control, reinforcement or imitation learning, real-world robot systems, simulation and sim-to-real, world models, or foundation models.
• Strong publication record in AI-related research, including venues such as CoRL, ICRA, RSS, CVPR, ICCV, ECCV, NeurIPS, or ICLR.
• Strong software engineering skills.
• Experience with real robot systems and/or deep learning frameworks.
• Must work from the Seattle office and be authorized to work in the United States.
• Ability to remain stationary for extended periods, observe details at close range, communicate information clearly, and work under deadlines.

Nice to have

• Research experience in large-scale multi-node training, training dynamics, efficiency, data curation, multimodal model debugging, or post-training methods.
• Contributions to open-source research libraries.
• Contributions to research communities through workshop organization or tutorials.

Culture & Benefits

• Open-source research environment with no restrictions on publications.
• Collaborative and transparent workplace focused on ambitious, breakthrough-oriented research.
• Medical, dental, vision, life, disability, and employee assistance coverage for team members and families.
• 401(k), health savings and reimbursement accounts, and flexible spending accounts.
• Paid vacation, sick leave, personal days, holidays, and family leave.
• Monthly commuting or internet and fitness and wellbeing allowances, annual bonuses, and participation in a long-term incentive plan.