AI Researcher - Robot Learning

The role

This person will own the full pipeline from RL algorithm development to production deployment. They will train NEO on manipulation and locomotion tasks in simulation and ship policies that work in real-world environments.

What you will do

• Train and deploy RL policies for manipulation and locomotion tasks.
• Advance sim-to-real transfer techniques.
• Build training and evaluation infrastructure.
• Partner with hardware, controls, data, and QA teams to ship RL-trained skills to production customer sites.

Required qualifications

• Strong Python and/or C++ with experience in large codebases and build tools (Bazel or equivalent)
• Proficiency with PyTorch for RL policy training and experimentation
• Hands-on experience with simulation platforms (Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, or equivalent) for policy training at scale
• Demonstrated experience training RL policies for manipulation or locomotion tasks, including addressing the sim-to-real gap on physical hardware

Nice to have

• Experience with model-based RL or world-model-guided policy learning
• Familiarity with imitation learning or learning from demonstration (behavior cloning, GAIL, IQL)
• Experience deploying RL-trained policies to physical robots in production environments
• Background in legged locomotion, dexterous manipulation, or contact-rich control for physical systems

Benefits

• Comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Generous paid time off, company holidays, and parental leave
• 401(k) plan with company match (100% on the first 3% of contributions, 50% on the next 2%)
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) and Health Savings Accounts (HSA) options
• Commuter benefits (transit and parking)
• Short-term and long-term disability, and life insurance
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) for mental health, financial, and personal support
• Onsite snacks and catered lunches

About the company

1X is building humanoid robots that work in homes to do chores and handle tasks. Their flagship robot is NEO, a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world.