Research + Modeling at Mind Robotics (Palo Alto, CA)
Mind Robotics· Palo Alto, CA·
Role details
Summary
This role involves building the foundations of general-purpose robotics by developing new approaches, scaling training systems, and working hands-on with robots. The ideal candidate will bridge research and engineering to translate ideas into real-world robot behavior.
Job description
About Mind: Mind Robotics is building Physical AI for real-world industrial deployment, starting with the factory floor. We believe the hardest problems in AI are solved when researchers and engineers are hands-on with the physical world every day - and we're looking for people who are passionate about robotics, value ownership, and are excited to tackle difficult problems. Join us if you want to move beyond digital intelligence and put intelligence into motion.
About the team and the role: At Mind Robotics, we’re building generalized physical AI—robotic systems capable of dexterous, adaptive, and reasoning-intensive work in real-world industrial environments. Our models sit at the core of this effort, bridging cutting-edge foundation model techniques with real-world robotic execution. We’re looking for a Research & Modeling Engineer to build and train the core models that power our systems, and ensure they perform reliably on real robots in production environments.
Responsibilities:
- Design and run large-scale training pipelines for multimodal / VLA systems.
- Own the full loop: data → training → evaluation → deployment on real robots.
- Develop scalable infrastructure for data ingestion, training, and iteration.
- Translate model outputs into reliable, high-performance robotic actions.
- Work hands-on with robots to debug, iterate, and improve behavior.
- Define data strategy (quality, scale, diversity) and evaluation frameworks.
- Continuously improve performance across real-world tasks and environments.
Requirements:
- Built and trained large-scale models (LLMs, VLMs, or robotics foundation models).
- Deep understanding of modern ML, training dynamics, and optimization at scale.
- Experience with distributed systems and data pipelines for large-scale training.
- Comfortable operating end-to-end: from data → model → real-world deployment (including robots).
- Domain strength in at least one: robotics, VLA systems, or training LLMs/VLMs from scratch.
- Strong Python proficiency.
Nice to Have:
- Experience with dexterous manipulation or complex robotic tasks.
- Experience deploying models in real-world, production environments.
Why work at Mind Robotics
- Massive impact per person: The company explicitly states it is "building a lean, collaborative team where every individual has a massive impact" — a rare promise for a company with over half a billion in funding.
- Hardware-in-the-loop culture: Engineers and researchers work directly with physical hardware daily, solving real-world problems rather than just simulation.
- Top-tier team: Colleagues include alumni from Tesla, Rivian, Databricks, and Physical Intelligence, creating a high-caliber peer group.
- Work policy: Hybrid workspace (combination of remote and on-site work) with a strong in-office presence in Palo Alto, CA. Most roles appear to be on-site or hybrid.
- Open roles: 22 active positions across hardware engineering (actuation, motor design, electrical design, tactile sensing), software engineering (robotics, firmware, controls, ML infrastructure), and data platform roles.
- Culture highlights: The company looks for "builders who are passionate about robotics and live for the challenge of making systems work in messy, complex environments." They emphasize a lean, collaborative team where every individual has massive impact.