Applied Scientist, PRG (Personal Robotics Group)

Amazon • Sunnyvale, CA

13h

About The Position

Join the Personal Robotics Group at Amazon, where you'll help pioneer intelligent robotic products that deliver meaningful customer experiences. As an Applied Scientist focused on Robot Navigation, you'll research and develop advanced navigation systems that enable robots to move reliably and safely through complex, dynamic environments. You'll work across a broad spectrum of navigation approaches—from classical methods to learning-based techniques and foundation models—to build robust solutions for autonomous robot navigation. In this role, you'll evaluate, adapt, and develop navigation methods that bridge the gap between state-of-the-art research and real-world deployment. You'll work closely with cross-functional teams to deliver integrated navigation capabilities that enable meaningful robot autonomy.

About the team
The Personal Robotics Group is pioneering intelligent robotic products that deliver meaningful customer experiences. We're building the next generation of robotic systems that will redefine how customers interact with technology. Our work spans the full spectrum from advanced hardware design to sophisticated software and control systems, combining mechanical innovation, software engineering, dynamic systems modeling, and intelligent algorithms to create robots that are not just functional, but delightful. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of personal robotics working with world-class teams pushing the boundaries of what's possible in robotic manipulation, locomotion, and human-robot interaction. Join us if you're passionate about creating the future of personal robotics, solving complex challenges at the intersection of hardware and software, and seeing your innovations deliver transformative customer experiences.

Requirements

• PhD, or Master's degree and 4+ years of CS, CE, ML or related field experience
• Experience with programming languages such as Python, Java, C++
• Experience building machine learning models or developing algorithms for business application
• Experience in patents or publications at top-tier peer-reviewed conferences or journals
• Experience applying theoretical models in an applied environment
• Experience developing and implementing deep learning models
• Track record of solving complex technical problems
• Experience with sim-to-real transfer for navigation systems
• Familiarity with visual navigation, semantic navigation, or foundation models applied to robot navigation
• Experience evaluating and benchmarking multiple navigation approaches (classical, learning-based, foundation model-based)
• Publication record at Robotics/ML/AI conferences (e.g., RSS, CoRL, ICRA, IROS, NeurIPS, ICML, ICLR)
• 1+ years of industry or academic research experience in robot navigation, motion planning, or autonomous systems
• Experience spanning classical robot navigation (e.g., global/local path planning, MPC/trajectory optimization) and modern learning-based navigation techniques
• Experience with simulation environments for robotics (Isaac Sim, Gazebo, or similar)

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement robust navigation systems that enable reliable autonomous operation in complex, dynamic indoor environments with static and dynamic obstacles
• Build simulation-based and on-device evaluation frameworks with comprehensive benchmarks and metrics for systematic comparison of navigation methods
• Conduct sim-to-real transfer experiments, analyzing performance gaps and developing techniques to ensure reliable real-world navigation performance
• Collaborate with perception, manipulation, and other teams to ensure seamless integration of navigation capabilities into the full robot system
• Stay current with the latest advances in robot navigation, spatial reasoning, and related fields, and apply relevant findings to improve system performance

Benefits

• health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage)
• 401(k) matching
• paid time off
• parental leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level