Research Engineer, Foundation Models

Sunnyvale, CA, United States

Targeted start date: Immediately.Relocation provided.

Research Engineers in foundation models are generalists who build and maintain end-to-end responsibility for our AI models. A typical day involves implementing new model architectures, developing full-stack infrastructure for ramping up our data engine, or implementing new ways to evaluate general-purpose robot policies. You will train and scale deep neural networks for manipulation, navigation, and locomotion on real robot hardware and improve both the breadth of skills and level of success of our androids. You will work closely with other AI team members and also develop independently.

1X's mission is to create an abundant supply of physical labor through safe, intelligent androids that work alongside humans. Since 2014, we’ve designed our products with large-scale manufacturing in mind, so we can produce androids at a high enough volume to meet the world’s labor demand.

Our wheeled Android EVE, is engineered to work with you, from guarding to logistics, and our bipedal model, NEO, is designed to become a household android with broad deployment in various applications. Our products will understand both natural language and physical space, so they can complete useful tasks in any environment.

We’ve established our dual HQ in San Francisco and Norway. Our positions require in-person presence to ensure effective execution and seamless collaboration in our hardware-focused environment. We value passion for our work and encourage candidates who share our dedication to join our team.

Why this job is exciting

Your role on the team will be to scale up learning algorithms on state-of-the-art hardware

You will build upon one of the largest android datasets, which is continuing to grow exponentially

We aim to (1) double the number of tasks the robot can perform and (2) half the error rate on existing tasks, quarter over quarter

The team works closely together to prioritize direction and scale up a single approach to a production-ready system

Responsibilities

Day to day: implement and scale up models for end-to-end navigation and manipulation and locomotion

Build the data engine (frontend UI and backend) to log, clean, and label data for foundation model training

Solve the general-purpose evaluation problem and bring robot skills to 99%+ success

Train and evaluate policies in simulation and solve sim-to-real

Work with our robot operations team to scale up our datasets and model capabilities

REQUIREMENTS

Must-Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or equivalent

Published research in top ML conferences (NeurIPS, CVPR, ICML, ICLR, CoRL, RSS, etc.)

Proficiency working with and testing large codebases in Python

Ability to rapidly prototype ideas in code in an independent manner

Familiarity with linear algebra and supervised machine learning

Experience with Deep Learning Frameworks (Pytorch, TF, JAX, etc.)

Nice-to-haves

ROS/ROS2 experience

Have built large programming projects on your own for fun (e.g. open source projects)

Training large-scale ML models such as visual foundation models, large language models, pixel-level generative models

You spend time reading r/LocalLLaMA/ and tinkering with open source LLM technology

Have implemented highly performant software

Compensation We offer a total compensation package including base salary from US$105,000 to US$250,000 annually, with generous stock options and other benefits.

Introduction Stage - we have initial conversations to get to know you better

[30m] Recruiter Screen with Win Yu

[45m] Hiring Manager Screen with aAI team

Team Interview Stage - we then dive into your experience in more depth and introduce you to members of the team. This is also the stage where you will do your take-home challenge

[90m] Technical Deep-Dive conversation with the AI team

Final Interview Stage - we move you to our final round

[15m] Role expectation management with Eric Jang

[30m] Conversation with CEO Bernt Øivind Børnich

Not sure if this is you?

If you’re excited about this role, but you’re not sure if you qualify, apply anyway! You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Location

This position is based in Sunnyvale, California, USA, at our newly renovated AI headquarters. We offer visa sponsorship for exceptional candidates. Joining our team means becoming a valued member of one of the biggest brands in humanoid robotics, where you'll play a part in shaping the future of general purpose androids.

A value driven team

These are the ideas that express our team’s culture and how we work:

Be Nice

Collaboration is our driving force. Our team creates an open, trusting environment where everyone can be their most creative.

Stay Smart

A world-changing team needs the brightest minds in every discipline. This is where people come to work, learn, and grow to their full potential.

Make History

Everything we do gets us closer to one ambitious vision: general-purpose androids helping people around the globe. We believe what we build today will impact generations.

1X is an inclusive and equal-opportunity employer that values diversity. We consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, religion, gender, age, sexual orientation, disability, or any other protected class. If you have a disability or special need that requires accommodation, please don't hesitate to let us know during the interview process. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

Discover life in Norway, for those considering relocation

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