Embodied AI / Simulation Engineer

Formic•Oakland, CA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

As an Embodied AI / Simulation Engineer, you will develop learning-based manipulation systems for humanoid and mobile manipulation platforms and ensure they transfer reliably into the real world. You will build the simulation, data, and training infrastructure needed to develop robust visuomotor policies and deploy them onto physical robotic systems operating in production environments. This role sits at the intersection of simulation, machine learning, and robotics execution. You will work closely with perception and controls teams to ensure learned policies operate safely, reliably, and effectively in closed-loop real-world conditions.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience training embodied AI policies that run on real robotic systems
Strong understanding of sim-to-real transfer challenges, hardware constraints, and real-world failure modes
Familiarity with transformer-based action models such as ACT
Experience with diffusion policies or other generative approaches for control and decision-making
Experience working with multimodal inputs including vision, proprioception, and language
Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch or JAX
Experience integrating learned policies with real-time control stacks and deployment environments
Strong experimental design and evaluation discipline, with attention to reproducibility and measurement quality
Ability to operate effectively across research and production constraints while maintaining technical rigor
Based in or willing to relocate to the Greater San Francisco Bay Area and able to work 5 days per week from Formic’s Oakland, CA office

Responsibilities

Design, train, and evaluate learning-based manipulation policies for humanoid and mobile manipulation platforms
Develop and maintain high-fidelity simulation environments and digital twins using Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, or similar tools
Implement and benchmark approaches including Action Chunking with Transformers (ACT), diffusion policies, behavior cloning, and Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models
Contribute to a Universal Manipulation Interface (UMI) abstraction layer that standardizes policy inputs, outputs, and deployment interfaces
Build scalable teleoperation-to-training data pipelines, including tooling for dataset generation, curation, and labeling
Design and execute sim-to-real transfer strategies including domain randomization, system identification, and calibration workflows
Analyze policy robustness, failure modes, safety constraints, and cross-task generalization in closed-loop settings
Partner with perception and controls teams to integrate learned policies with real-time systems and ensure stable execution
Deploy trained models onto physical robots and lead on-hardware validation, debugging, and iteration
Establish experimental rigor through structured evaluation plans, ablations, reproducible training runs, and performance tracking

Benefits

Equity in Formic: Participate in our stock option program and share in the success of a fast-growing start-up backed by leading global investors
Competitive & Uncapped Commission Structure: Designed to reward performance and impact in commission-eligible roles
Comprehensive Healthcare Coverage: Medical, dental, and vision insurance through Blue Cross Blue Shield and Unum, with 99% of employee premiums covered and 75% coverage for dependents, with optional buy-up plans available
Additional Insurance Benefits: FSA and DCFSA, life insurance, short-term disability, and long-term disability through Unum, all 100% employer-paid
Employee Assistance Program (EAP): Fully funded by Formic, offering support when you need it most
Paid Parental Leave Program: Up to 12 weeks of paid parental leave
Company-sponsored 401(k): Invest in your future with our company-facilitated retirement savings plan
Home Office Stipend: A one-time allowance for fully remote and hybrid employees to support an at-home or on-the-road work setup
Monthly Cell Phone Reimbursement: Monthly stipend toward personal phone and internet expenses
Flexible Time Off: Take the time you need, when you need it, supported by our flexible PTO policy