Your New Role and Team
Sanctuary, a world leader in building AI-based control systems for humanoid robots, is seeking a Staff Research Scientist to join our team in engineering and innovating unique robotic manipulation tasks.
As a Staff Research Scientist, your role will involve choosing the most cutting-edge methods, creating training and data collection systems, overseeing the evaluation of these algorithms in simulated environments, and implementing them on our robots in real-world situations. You will also enjoy the exclusive chance to make a meaningful impact by working with novel haptic and proprioceptive sensing techniques, thanks to our in-house robot with dexterous hands.
Success Criteria
Create, develop, and enhance cutting-edge Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Imitation Learning (IL) algorithms and evaluate their performance in practical applications
Stay current with the latest developments in RL/IL techniques and their application in robotics
Identify, communicate, and lead research initiatives that show promise to the wider ML team
Discover strategies for enhancing current RL/IL learning processes, considering key performance metrics like sample efficiency, speed, computational resources, and scalability
Devise RL/IL training and data collection pipelines to expedite implementation on physical robots
Collaborate within a diverse team to devise innovative algorithms and investigate the root causes of errors in existing implementations
Your Experience
Qualifications
Ph.D. in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or equivalent practical background in Reinforcement Learning and/or Imitation Learning
5+ years of hands-on experience implementing and deploying robotic manipulation tasks, both in simulation and on physical robots
5+ years of practical experience applying various Reinforcement Learning and/or Imitation Learning methods, with focus on robotics in the real world
4+ years experience in developing and optimizing large-batch parallel simulations for Reinforcement Learning
Proven expertise in continual learning, employing adaptive model training to improve long-term performance and accuracy
Proven expertise in sim-to-real transfer
Experience in transitioning Machine Learning research and trained models into real-world production
Active involvement in integrating Machine Learning models into a robotics platform
A track record of publishing research in esteemed AI conferences such as ICRA, IROS and CORL
Skills
Development with Python 3.8 or later
Working knowledge of PyTorch and/or TensorFlow
Familiarity with ROS2
Expertise in use of Reinforcement Learning principles and their application
Experience with Atlassian tools; Jira, Confluence, or equivalent i.e. GitLab
Traits
Above all else, a consistently positive attitude and a willingness to do whatever it takes to create robust solutions to complex problems
Strong leadership skills in organizing R&D work for ML projects
Eager to take on new challenges with tenacity and positivity
Patience, persistence, and attention to detail when resolving performance issues
Enthusiasm for bringing human-like intelligence to machines
Ability to drive development of new functionalities from concept to production
Ability to multitask and prioritize in a fast paced environment
Skills Required
- Ph.D. in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Applied Mathematics, or equivalent practical RL/IL background
- 5+ years implementing and deploying robotic manipulation tasks in simulation and on physical robots
- 5+ years practical experience applying Reinforcement Learning and/or Imitation Learning with robotics focus
- 4+ years developing and optimizing large-batch parallel simulations for Reinforcement Learning
- Proven expertise in continual learning and adaptive model training
- Proven expertise in sim-to-real transfer
- Experience transitioning ML research and trained models into real-world production
- Active involvement integrating Machine Learning models into a robotics platform
- Track record of publishing in conferences such as ICRA, IROS, or CoRL
- Development experience with Python 3.8 or later
- Working knowledge of PyTorch and/or TensorFlow
- Familiarity with ROS2
- Experience with Atlassian tools (Jira, Confluence) or equivalent (GitLab)
What We Do
Sanctuary is on a mission to create the world’s first human-like intelligence in general-purpose robots that will help us work more safely, efficiently, and sustainably. And in the not-too-distant future, help us explore, settle, and prosper in outer space. Members of the Sanctuary team founded D-Wave (a pioneer in the quantum computing industry), Kindred (first use of reinforcement learning in a production robot), and the Creative Destruction Lab (pioneered a revolutionary method for the commercialization of science for the betterment of humankind). The team has experience launching market-defining innovations rooted in previously unsolved and deep scientific problems.
