Robotics Applied Scientist, Active Perception

Posted 3 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
Irvine, CA, USA
In-Office
Entry level
Artificial Intelligence • Robotics
Transforming industrial operations through physically embodied robotic AI and superhuman autonomy.
The Role
Research and develop active perception systems for real-world robots, including viewpoint planning, information gathering, calibrated confidence, abstention, and vision-language reasoning. The role owns research through hardware experiments and deployment, shapes the technical roadmap, and mentors junior contributors. Candidates should have robotics research expertise, strong publications, experience with vision-language or foundation models, and proficiency in Python, C++, and ROS 2.
Summary Generated by Built In
FieldAI’s Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California’s robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field.

What You Will Get To Do

  • Formulate the active perception problem for inspection and a broad range of robot behaviors

  • Develop viewpoint planning policies for active information gathering

  • Research calibrated confidence and abstention for vision-language reasoning on the robot

  • Own the research and development work through to the real-world experiments that prove feasibility and deployability

  • Investigate and shape the technical roadmap, aligning real-world needs with technical development

  • Mentor junior team members and collaborators

What You Have

  • PhD in robotics, computer science, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field, with publications at top venues such as RSS, CoRL, ICRA, IROS, T-FR, T-RO, CVPR, NeurIPS, or similar.

  • Research experience in active perception, informative path planning, vision-language models, or semantic mapping for exploration.

  • Hands-on work with vision-language or foundation models for robot perception, plus the physical principles governing them.

  • Fluency in Python and the ability to run your methods on real robots with C++ and ROS 2.

  • A principled fluency with uncertainty: Bayesian or information-theoretic planning, calibration, and conformal methods

What Will Set You Apart

  • Real-robot experience in the wild

  • Work on metric-semantic scene graphs, open-vocabulary mapping, or spatio-temporal scene representations.

  • Experience fine-tuning or deploying compact VLMs on edge computers

  • Exposure to robotic industrial inspection workflows

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual’s background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.
 
Why Join FieldAI in Irvine?
In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics’ hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models™ raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use.
You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.
 
Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution
We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.
 
Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.
 
We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.

Skills Required

  • PhD in robotics, computer science, electrical engineering, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related field
  • Publications at top venues such as RSS, CoRL, ICRA, IROS, T-FR, T-RO, CVPR, or NeurIPS
  • Research experience in active perception, informative path planning, vision-language models, or semantic mapping for exploration
  • Hands-on experience with vision-language or foundation models for robot perception
  • Fluency in Python
  • Ability to run methods on real robots using C++ and ROS 2
  • Fluency with Bayesian or information-theoretic planning, calibration, uncertainty, and conformal methods
  • Real-robot experience in field environments
  • Experience with metric-semantic scene graphs, open-vocabulary mapping, or spatio-temporal scene representations
  • Experience fine-tuning or deploying compact vision-language models on edge computers
  • Exposure to robotic industrial inspection workflows
Am I A Good Fit?
beta
Get Personalized Job Insights.
Our AI-powered fit analysis compares your resume with a job listing so you know if your skills & experience align.

The Company
HQ: Irvine, California
104 Employees
Year Founded: 2016

What We Do

FieldAI is pioneering the development of a field-proven, hardware agnostic brain technology that enables many different types of robots to operate autonomously in hazardous, offroad, and potentially harsh industrial settings – all without GPS, maps, or any pre-programmed routes.

Similar Jobs

BAE Systems, Inc. Logo BAE Systems, Inc.

Senior Principal Design Verification Engineer - FPGA - (Sign-on Bonus)

Aerospace • Hardware • Information Technology • Security • Software • Cybersecurity • Defense
Hybrid
San Diego, CA, USA
40000 Employees
130K-222K Annually

Benchling Logo Benchling

Program Manager

Cloud • Healthtech • Social Impact • Software • Biotech
Hybrid
2 Locations
605 Employees
152K-242K Annually

Motive Logo Motive

Senior Analytics Engineer

Artificial Intelligence • Fintech • Hardware • Information Technology • Sales • Software • Transportation
Easy Apply
In-Office
5 Locations
4000 Employees
149K-205K Annually

Gradient AI Logo Gradient AI

Senior Client Executive

Artificial Intelligence • Insurance • Machine Learning • Software • Analytics
Easy Apply
Remote or Hybrid
USA
130 Employees
110K-135K Annually

Similar Companies Hiring

Unusual Machines, Inc. Thumbnail
Hardware • Robotics
Orlando, FL
300 Employees
Blee Thumbnail
Artificial Intelligence • Marketing Tech • Software
New York, New York
30 Employees
Vega Thumbnail
Artificial Intelligence • Automotive • Insurance • Transportation
US
65 Employees

Sign up now Access later

Create Free Account

Please log in or sign up to report this job.

Create Free Account