Research Scientist, Reinforcement Learning - Atlas jobs in United States
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Boston Dynamics · 4 hours ago

Research Scientist, Reinforcement Learning - Atlas

positionWaltham, MA
timeFull-time
remoteOnsite
seniorityMid, Senior Level

Boston Dynamics is pushing the boundaries of advanced humanoid robots, and they are seeking a Research Scientist to develop cutting-edge reinforcement learning solutions for their Atlas robots. The role involves designing, training, and deploying RL policies for complex tasks in unstructured environments, working closely with a world-class team of roboticists.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)RoboticsSoftware
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Growth Opportunities
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H1B Sponsor Likelynote

Responsibilities

Design, implement, and train reinforcement learning algorithms for challenging whole-body mobile manipulation and bimanual manipulation tasks
Develop high-quality Python and C++ code that is tested, documented, and production-ready
Build and leverage high-fidelity simulation environments (e.g., Isaac Sim, MuJoCo) to validate RL policies before deploying on hardware
Integrate learned policies with Atlas’s control and software stack through close collaboration with controls and platform teams
Deploy, debug, and iterate policies directly on real Atlas hardware through hands-on experimentation
Participate in design reviews, experimental planning, and team-wide research direction

Qualification

Reinforcement LearningPythonC++Machine Learning frameworksRobotics fundamentalsAlgorithmsDebuggingPerformance optimizationBimanual manipulationWhole-body control

Required

MS or PhD in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, or a related field
Strong experience training and deploying RL policies for complex behaviors in robots or simulated agents
Proficiency with modern ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, TensorFlow, RLlib)
Strong foundations in algorithms, debugging, performance optimization, and robotics fundamentals (kinematics, dynamics)
Excellent Python and C++ programming skills and experience contributing to production-scale software

Preferred

PhD or equivalent research experience in reinforcement learning or robotic manipulation
Experience deploying RL policies on physical robots
Experience developing locomotion, bimanual manipulation, or whole-body control behaviors
Contributions to large software projects or open-source ML/robotics frameworks
Publications in top-tier robotics or ML conferences (e.g., CoRL, RSS, ICRA, NeurIPS)

Company

Boston Dynamics

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Boston Dynamics is an engineering company that specializes in building dynamic robots and software for human simulation.
dateFounded in 1992
location
Waltham, Massachusetts, USA
people-size501-1000 employees
web-link
http://bostondynamics.com

H1B Sponsorship

Boston Dynamics has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (16)
2024 (25)
2023 (7)
2022 (6)
2020 (3)

Funding

Current Stage
Late Stage
Total Funding
$37M
Key Investors
SoftBank
2020-12-09Acquired
2019-02-06Series Unknown· $37M

Leadership Team

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Robert Playter
Chief Executive Officer
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Marc Theermann
Chief Strategy Officer
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Recent News

eeNews Europe
Hyundai outlines AI robotics strategy for CES 2026
2025-12-29
MarketScreener
Hyundai's Boston Dynamics to debut new Atlas humanoid robots at CES
2025-12-22
EIN Presswire
Service Robotics Market Set to Grow at 21.26% CAGR Through 2031: Healthcare Automation & Defense, E-Commerce
2025-12-19
Company data provided by crunchbase