---
title: 'Helix AI Engineer, Pretraining at Figure'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/helix-ai-engineer-pretraining-figure-san-jose-c2tmgy3bm1sv'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-12'
---

# Helix AI Engineer, Pretraining at Figure

- **Company:** Figure
- **Location:** San Jose, CA
- **Posted:** 2026-04-09
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-12
- **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/figureai/jobs/4671704006

## Job description

Figure is an AI robotics company developing autonomous general-purpose humanoid robots. Our goal is to build embodied AI systems that can perceive, reason, and act in the real world. Figure is headquartered in San Jose, CA, and this role requires 5 days/week in-office collaboration.

Our Helix team is responsible for developing the core AI systems that power humanoid autonomy. We are looking for a Helix AI Engineer, Pretraining to build large-scale foundation models that learn from diverse data sources including text, images, video, and robot-collected experience.

This role focuses on advancing pretraining methods that enable generalization, reasoning, and adaptability—forming the backbone for downstream capabilities in perception, planning, and action.

## Responsibilities

- Design and train large-scale foundation models across multimodal data (e.g., text, vision, and robot data)
- Develop pretraining strategies that improve generalization, reasoning, and transfer to downstream embodied tasks
- Explore and implement architectures including transformer-based and emerging foundation model paradigms
- Work on scaling laws, dataset mixture design, and training dynamics for frontier models
- Build and optimize large-scale distributed training pipelines across multi-node GPU clusters
- Collaborate closely with video, generative, agent, and robot learning teams to integrate pretrained models into the autonomy stack
- Design evaluation frameworks to measure reasoning ability, robustness, and cross-domain generalization
- Contribute to post-training approaches including fine-tuning, alignment, and model adaptation

## Requirements

- Experience training large-scale foundation models or working on pretraining for LLMs or multimodal systems
- Strong understanding of modern deep learning architectures, especially transformers
- Experience with large-scale distributed training and optimization
- Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch
- Strong experimental rigor and ability to iterate on model design and training strategies
- Solid software engineering skills and ability to build scalable, reliable systems
- Ability to operate independently and drive ambiguous, high-impact technical problems

Bonus Qualifications

- Experience working on frontier foundation models at companies such as Anthropic, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, or xAI
- Experience with multimodal pretraining (vision-language or vision-language-action models)
- Background in scaling laws, dataset curation, and large-scale data mixture optimization
- Experience with post-training techniques such as RLHF, reward modeling, or alignment methods
- Familiarity with embodied AI, robotics, or real-world deployment constraints
- Publication record in machine learning, NLP, or multimodal AI

The US base salary range for this full-time position is between $200,000 - $400,000

The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components/benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.

## About Figure

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Figure is an AI robotics company building the world's first commercially viable autonomous general-purpose humanoid robot.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series C, $1.9B total funding)
- **Headquarters**: San Jose, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2022
- **Founders**: Brett Adcock

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: AI Robotics / Humanoid Robotics / Machinery Manufacturing
- **Target customers**: Enterprise (manufacturing, logistics, warehousing, retail) and, in future iterations, consumer/home markets.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To bring a commercially viable general-purpose humanoid to market, making humans capable of more and addressing labor shortages.

## Products & Services
- **Figure 03**: The latest generation humanoid robot, designed for the home and the world at scale. Features a softer look and feel, advanced hand dexterity, and an integrated battery in the torso. It is powered by the company's AI model, Helix.
- **Helix / Helix 02**: Figure's in-house AI model for humanoid control. Helix 02 is described as their most powerful model to date, enabling the robot to perform complex tasks autonomously (e.g., using the whole body to do dishes end-to-end).
- **F.02 Fleet**: The previous generation robot used in a real-world deployment with BMW, where it contributed to the production of 30,000 cars over 11 months, running 10 hours per day.
- **BotQ**: Figure's manufacturing division, responsible for building the robots at scale.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed (private company). Total funding is $1.9B.
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding of $1,854,000,000.
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Parkway Venture Capital (led Series A and Series C), Intel Capital (led Venture Round), Brett Adcock (led Seed Round). Key partner: BMW (11-month deployment).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 128.8% YoY to 442 employees. Active job postings increased 223.5% YoY. The company is actively scaling its manufacturing arm (BotQ) and commercial operations. It operates in 12 countries.

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-Mover in Commercial Humanoids**: Figure has a significant head start with a real-world, 11-month deployment at a major automaker (BMW), proving the technology's viability.
- **Vertically Integrated AI & Hardware**: Unlike many competitors, Figure builds both the robot hardware and the AI software (Helix) in-house, creating a tightly integrated system.
- **Massive Data Advantage**: Through its "Project Go-Big" and partnership with BMW, Figure is building the world's largest humanoid pretraining dataset, a critical moat in AI.
- **Aggressive Talent Acquisition**: Has hired top talent from Tesla (60), Apple (34), Boston Dynamics (12), SpaceX (9), and others, concentrating deep expertise.

## Strategic Focus
- **Commercial Deployment**: Scaling from pilot programs (BMW) to widespread commercial deployment across logistics, warehousing, and manufacturing.
- **Home Market Entry**: The design of Figure 03 signals a clear strategic pivot toward the consumer/home market as the next major growth vector.
- **AI Leadership**: Continued investment in the Helix AI model to achieve full autonomy and general-purpose capability.
- **Manufacturing Scale**: Building out BotQ to mass-produce humanoid robots.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-Driven & High Impact**: The company is laser-focused on a singular, ambitious mission: "to build the most groundbreaking company on the planet." Work is described as being "in the trenches together."
- **Culture of Speed & Fearlessness**: Core values include "Move Fast & Be Technically Fearless" and "Aggressively Optimistic." The environment is described as high-performance, with a "championship mindset."
- **On-Site, Collaborative Environment**: Employees work from physical offices in San Jose, CA (HQ) and a secondary location in Sunnyvale. The culture emphasizes in-person collaboration.
- **Generous Benefits**: Offers health insurance, generous parental leave, and family/childcare benefits.
- **Massive Growth Trajectory**: With 110 open roles, explosive headcount growth, and a clear path to market, employees have significant opportunity for career growth and impact.
- **Technical Challenges**: Work spans cutting-edge AI (reinforcement learning, perception, pretraining), hardware engineering (actuators, electrical, mechanical), and manufacturing at scale.

## Sources
1. [figure.ai](https://www.figure.ai/company)
2. [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/company/figure-ai)
3. [Greenhouse Jobs](http://job-boards.greenhouse.io/figureai)
4. [Built In](https://builtin.com/company/figureai)

## Other roles at Figure

- [Senior Engineering Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-engineering-technician-figure-san-jose-xwbmahnjsehw) — San Jose, CA
- [IT Client Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/it-client-engineer-figure-san-jose-98vg4x37e2hz) — San Jose, CA
- [Material Handler, Commercial Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/material-handler-commercial-operations-figure-san-jose-g5v6588s6wwk) — San Jose, CA
- [Senior People Operations Specialist](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-people-operations-specialist-figure-san-jose-y72j2w7sffws) — San Jose, CA
- [Helix Data Creator (SP)](https://feeny.ai/job/helix-data-creator-sp-figure-sao-paulo-sn544m223ydk) — São Paulo, Brazil
- [Technical Program Manager, Security & Privacy](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-security-privacy-figure-san-jose-11wr8c99h9vp) — San Jose, CA
- [Warehouse Manager, Commercial Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/warehouse-manager-commercial-operations-figure-san-jose-by7d0fey5yfd) — San Jose, CA
- [State Estimation Engineer - Data Collection Systems](https://feeny.ai/job/state-estimation-engineer-data-collection-systems-figure-san-jose-k6mqbj3tsxwh) — San Jose, CA
- [Senior Gear Design Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-gear-design-engineer-figure-san-jose-rgs02kgsk5se) — San Jose, CA
- [Finance Manager (SP)](https://feeny.ai/job/finance-manager-sp-figure-sao-paulo-cvrq8zxm2x8p) — São Paulo, Brazil