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Deft AI, Inc.

Research Scientist

Posted 5 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
In-Office
San Francisco, CA, USA
150K-250K Annually
Mid level
In-Office
San Francisco, CA, USA
150K-250K Annually
Mid level
Research Scientist developing robot autonomy software and learning algorithms for dexterous manipulation in unstructured environments. Responsibilities include reinforcement and imitation learning, high-performance inference, production robot data pipelines, distributed policy training, edge deployment, and safety-critical software. The role also advances robotics research through novel methodologies while applying results to customer use cases.
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What you'll do

● Design and develop robot autonomy software stack and algorithms to enable capabilities including grasping and more dexterous behaviors in unstructured environments

● Research and implement state-of-the-art robot learning policies, including reinforcement learning and imitation learning-based techniques

● Build reliable, high-speed robot autonomy software stack optimized for inference performance

● Design and maintain robust data collection and curation pipelines for production robot fleets

● Optimize robot policies for distributed training at scale and real-time edge deployment

● Ship production quality, safety-critical software

● Advance SOTA dexterous manipulation research through novel methodologies while bridging theory & practice—real customer use-cases with clear success criteria.

Required Qualifications

● PhD or MS degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, or equivalent technical discipline

● Deep expertise in machine learning fundamentals, reinforcement learning, and associated frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Ray, etc.)

● 3+ years of proven track record developing and deploying ML systems from research through production implementation

● Hands-on experience with model lifecycle management including training, deployment, and maintenance in production settings

Preferred Qualifications

● Authored or co-authored peer-reviewed publications in robotics or related fields

● Hands-on experience designing and implementing bimanual manipulation tech stacks with imitation learning or RL-based methods

● Background in real-time ML inference systems, simulation-to-reality transfer, or advanced reinforcement learning implementations

Benefits

● We support publishing at top robotics/ML venues and presenting at conferences (travel + time fully covered).

● Medical, dental & vision plans

● Daily meals stipend

Hiring Process

● Phone screen + 3 virtual technical interviews + onsite

Expected Compensation

● $150,000 - $250,000 annual salary + cash and stock awards + benefits

● The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components/benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.

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