---
title: 'Reinforcement Learning Engineer, Grasping at Persona AI Inc'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/reinforcement-learning-engineer-grasping-persona-ai-inc-houston-kfg4t9x6rbgj'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-13'
---

# Reinforcement Learning Engineer, Grasping at Persona AI Inc

- **Company:** Persona AI Inc
- **Location:** Houston, TX
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Posted:** 2026-06-18
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-13
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/persona.ai/2e1ad9ed-cc2e-436d-93eb-76a5bff239c8/application

**Skills:** Python, PyTorch, JAX, rsl_rl, skrl, MuJoCo, Isaac Sim, Isaac Lab, Deep Learning, Reinforcement Learning, Sim-to-real transfer, Domain randomization, Physics tuning, Mesh preparation, Collision geometry, Tactile sensors, Contact-rich manipulation, Force/torque estimation, Behavior cloning, Imitation learning

> Join the Manipulation team to develop and deploy reinforcement learning policies for dexterous grasping on humanoid robots. You will train RL agents, implement sim-to-real transfer pipelines, and integrate tactile feedback for robust manipulation in a hardware-focused environment.

## Job description

Persona AI is developing and commercializing rugged, multi-purpose humanoid robots that perform real work. Persona's founding team has a decades-long history in humanoid robotics, bionics, and product development delivering robust hardware that has touched the stars, worked miles below the surface of the ocean, roamed Disney Parks, and has even been featured on a US postage stamp. Our mission is focused squarely on shipping beautiful, reliable products at massive scale, while building a customer-focused team to achieve these aims. Role Overview: We are looking for a Reinforcement Learning Engineer to join our Manipulation team, focused on dexterous grasping. Our goal is to ship capable, reliable grasping policies on real hardware with high-DOF robotic hands. We are looking for someone who can follow recent advances in reinforcement learning and related learning-based methods, judge what is practically useful, and adapt those ideas on our platform. If you are earlier in your career but exceptional, we want to hear from you; equally, a more experienced candidate who brings deep RL expertise will thrive here. Your Role:

- Train and iterate on reinforcement learning policies for complex grasping tasks including functional grasping, tool use, in-hand manipulation, and environment interaction.
- Implement and refine sim-to-real transfer pipelines to bridge the gap between simulation and physical robotic hand performance.
- Develop reward functions, curriculum strategies, and training environments in MuJoCo and Isaac Lab.
- Run experiments on real robots alongside simulation, evaluating and debugging policy behavior on hardware.
- Monitor, evaluate, and adapt state-of-the-art research in learning-based grasping to deploy on our humanoid platform.
- Collaborate with the rest of the software team to deploy end-to-end grasping systems.
- Benchmark and evaluate grasp policies across object diversity, clutter scenes, and real-world uncertainties.
- Integrate tactile sensing and feedback into grasp policies for robust, force-aware manipulation.

We're Looking For:

- BS, MS, or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field.
- 2+ years of hands-on experience in reinforcement learning for robotic manipulation; exceptional recent graduates from relevant research labs will be considered.
- Demonstrated ability to read, understand, and implement ideas from recent robotics and machine learning research.
- Hands-on experience training RL agents for robotic manipulation tasks, including reward shaping and policy evaluation.
- Experience with sim-to-real transfer: domain randomization, physics tuning, or real-world policy validation on hardware.
- Proficiency in Python and deep learning frameworks (PyTorch, JAX), along with RL libraries such as rsl_rl or skrl.
- Experience preparing meshes and collision geometries for RL environments in simulators such as MuJoCo and/or Isaac Sim.

Bonus Qualifications:

- Experience deploying RL-trained policies on physical robotic hands.
- Experience with tactile sensors and integrating tactile feedback into learned grasp policies.
- Experience with contact-rich manipulation and force/torque estimation.
- Familiarity with other learning-based approaches such as behavior cloning, imitation learning, or diffusion-based policy methods.
- Publications or project work at top-tier venues (CoRL, RSS, ICRA) on grasping or dexterous manipulation.
- Experience in a humanoid robot startup environment.

Why Join Persona AI?

- We offer competitive compensation, a performance-based bonus, 99% employer covered medical benefits, early-stage equity, competitive PTO, and a company-wide paid winter break between December 24th and January 2nd.
- You’ll shape technology that’s redefining the possibilities of robotics and human interaction.
- Work alongside passionate teammates who value creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning.
- Enjoy full access to advanced tools, hardware labs, and the freedom to push the boundaries of what robots can do.

Persona AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

## About Persona AI Inc

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Persona AI develops industrial humanoid robots designed for skilled physical work in complex environments like shipyards, construction sites, and energy infrastructure.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: Houston, Texas, United States
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Nicolaus Radford (CEO), Jide Akinyode (COO), Dr. Jerry Pratt (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Industrial Robotics, Humanoid Robotics, AI, Manufacturing, Construction, Energy, Shipbuilding
- **Target customers**: B2B / Enterprise — heavy industrial sectors including shipbuilding, construction, energy (oil & gas, utilities), manufacturing, and defense.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: To build industrial humanoid robots that perform skilled physical work in complex environments, addressing labor shortages, improving safety, and increasing operational efficiency across heavy industry. The company focuses on the "4D jobs" — dull, dirty, dangerous, and declining — so that humans don't have to perform them.

## Products & Services
- **Persona AI Humanoid Platform**: A modular industrial humanoid robot designed for real-world applications in shipyards, construction sites, energy infrastructure, and manufacturing facilities. The system is engineered for skilled physical work in complex environments and supports tasks such as welding, grinding, inspection, material handling, fabrication, and equipment maintenance. The modular design allows integration with standard industrial tools and adaptation to different workflows.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding — $30M (oversubscribed Pre-Seed round, closed June 2025)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Tides Ventures, Unity Growth Fund, POSCO DX, GOOSE Capital, SGH Capital, Embedded Ventures, and 19 other investors. Partners include Under Armour (performance materials), ABS (shipyard safety), and the State of Louisiana (pilot program at SSE Steel Fabrication).
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount of ~65 employees (as of mid-2025) with a monthly growth rate of +3.9%. Active job postings have grown +13.3% monthly and +54.5% quarterly. The company has announced key hires including Brian Davis (Head of Global Manufacturing) and Michael Perry (Head of Commercial Strategy). It has secured a pilot program with the State of Louisiana and a partnership with ABS for shipyard applications.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Deep domain expertise**: The leadership team has contributed to 15+ humanoid projects and published impactful robotics research, giving them a strong technical foundation.
- **Modular, task-focused design**: The robot platform is built to integrate with standard industrial tools and adapt to different workflows, making it practical for real-world deployment rather than being a general-purpose humanoid.
- **Early mover in a critical niche**: Persona AI is specifically targeting the skilled industrial labor gap in sectors like shipbuilding, construction, and energy, which face acute labor shortages and high demand for automation.
- **Strong government and industry partnerships**: Early pilot programs with the State of Louisiana and a partnership with ABS (American Bureau of Shipping) demonstrate real-world traction and validation.

## Strategic Focus
- **Productization and deployment**: Moving from R&D to deploying humanoid robots in real industrial environments, with a focus on welding, fabrication, and maintenance tasks.
- **Scaling the team**: Aggressively hiring across robotics engineering, machine learning, mechanical design, and commercial strategy roles to build out the organization.
- **Building commercial partnerships**: Establishing relationships with major industrial players (e.g., POSCO, HD Hyundai affiliates, Under Armour) and government entities to secure pilot programs and long-term contracts.
- **Expanding use cases**: Targeting shipbuilding, construction, energy infrastructure, and defense as primary verticals.

## Why Work Here
- **Mission-driven work**: The company is tackling a tangible, high-impact problem — the skilled labor shortage in heavy industry — by building robots that perform dangerous, dirty, and physically demanding tasks.
- **Strong technical team**: The leadership includes veterans from NASA, the robotics research community, and major defense/industrial companies. The CTO, Dr. Jerry Pratt, is a well-known figure in humanoid robotics.
- **Early-stage growth**: As a 2024 startup with $30M in funding and a headcount of ~65, new hires can have significant impact on the product and company direction.
- **Diverse, hands-on roles**: Open positions range from Welding Engineer and Robotics Technician to Machine Learning Engineer and XR Rendering Engineer, offering a variety of technical challenges.
- **Houston-based**: Headquarters in Houston, Texas, with a growing international presence. The company appears to be on-site or hybrid given the nature of hardware development.
- **Notable perks/culture**: The company emphasizes a "build" culture, with a focus on putting "tough humanoids to work." The team includes veterans from Anduril, Nauticus Robotics, and NASA, suggesting a high-caliber, mission-driven engineering environment.

## Sources
1. [persona.ai](https://persona.ai/)
2. [LinkedIn - Persona AI](https://www.linkedin.com/company/persona-humanoids-at-work)
3. [CB Insights - Persona AI](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/persona-ai)
4. [Ashby Careers - Persona AI](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/persona.ai)
5. [Persona AI - The Team](https://persona.ai/the-team/)

## Other roles at Persona AI Inc

- [AI Engineer – Robotics Data Preprocessing](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-engineer-robotics-data-preprocessing-persona-ai-inc-pensacola-fl-or-houston-mzny1g5jneke) — Pensacola FL OR Houston, TX
- [Senior Assembly Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-assembly-technician-persona-ai-inc-houston-n7kt2xazhmpk) — Houston, TX
- [Robotics Software Internship, Manipulation](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-internship-manipulation-persona-ai-inc-houston-3ymz9b7b5tm8) — Houston, TX
- [Talent Acquisition Coordinator](https://feeny.ai/job/talent-acquisition-coordinator-persona-ai-inc-houston-27jreg4pv57e) — Houston, TX
- [Senior Technical Recruiter – Advanced Manufacturing](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-recruiter-advanced-manufacturing-persona-ai-inc-houston-7xhsd3k6ym9r) — Houston, TX
- [Senior Technical Recruiter - Humanoid Robotics Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-technical-recruiter-humanoid-robotics-engineering-persona-ai-inc-houston-ze8sb651qkw5) — Houston, TX
- [Controls Systems Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/controls-systems-engineer-persona-ai-inc-houston-dwx4kw5d6sp5) — Houston, TX
- [Senior Robotics Software Engineer - Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-robotics-software-engineer-autonomy-persona-ai-inc-houston-2qspy6cwd7jy) — Houston, TX
- [Precision Assembler](https://feeny.ai/job/precision-assembler-persona-ai-inc-houston-b7h62z0a3b93) — Houston, TX
- [Robotics Full Stack Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-full-stack-software-engineer-persona-ai-inc-pensacola-fl-or-houston-9n7bffpy4sfk) — Pensacola FL OR Houston, TX