---
title: 'Senior Robotics Engineer, Mission Autonomy at FieldAI'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-robotics-engineer-mission-autonomy-fieldai-irvine-g30yqdd9hbbh'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-11-05'
---

# Senior Robotics Engineer, Mission Autonomy at FieldAI

- **Company:** FieldAI
- **Location:** Irvine, CA
- **Compensation:** $180k–$220k
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-10-29
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-11-05
- **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/field-ai/43b6dae8-9345-4b5a-96a1-57434925452b

## Job description

FieldAI’s Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California’s robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field.

Who are We

[Field AI](https://www.fieldai.com/)is transforming how robots interact with the real world. We are building risk-aware, reliable, and field-ready AI systems that address the most complex challenges in robotics, unlocking the full potential of embodied intelligence. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-based architectures, and are charting a new course, with already-globally-deployed solutions delivering real-world results and rapidly improving models through real-field applications.

Learn more at [https://fieldai.com.](https://fieldai.com)

## About the Job

Field AI is seeking a rigorous and innovative Senior Robotic Autonomy Engineer for Mission Autonomy to play a vital role in the development of highly advanced robotic and AI systems by designing and implementing intelligent decision-making frameworks. Your contribution is essential to advancing our autonomous robotic platforms and delivering cutting-edge AI-driven solutions to customers. This is a unique career opportunity to join a rapidly growing company and contribute to the success of enterprise clients in a dynamic, fast-paced environment.

## What You’ll Get To Do

Perception-Aware Mission Autonomy: Couple runtime perception outputs (e.g. semantic 3D scene understanding) with world information, to create a unified semantic scene graph that enables perception-aware real-time mission planning and execution with spatial reasoning, feasibility validation, online task replanning, and natural language driven robotic autonomy.

VLM-Based Long-Horizon Reasoning: Design and implement a VLM-based mission controller that observes the robot's camera view and scene graph, reasons about mission progress, and selects actions from reusable primitives and tools, with step verification, failure detection and recovery, online replanning, and feedback handling for natural language driven long-horizon missions.

Multi-Robot Mission Autonomy: Support the development of a multi-robot mission autonomy framework for task allocation, execution monitoring, and coordination across heterogeneous robots, and expand the robotics testing framework through unit and integration tests to ensure system reliability, safety, and performance.

## What You Have

- PhD in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field.

- Advanced proficiency in Python programming, C++, ROS/ROS 2, Linux, Git, Docker

- 5+ years experience with AI-driven autonomy software deployed on real robots (e.g. task and motion planning, VLM/LLM-based planners, state machines, behavior trees) and low-level robotic manipulation skills

- Ability to effectively and efficiently communicate with all teams, and to lead technical efforts across them

- Strong problem-solving skills and proven ability to navigate complex software systems

- Strong work ethic, highly self-motivated, and able to work independently while managing multiple priorities

The Extras That Set You Apart

- Experience with simulation environments (e.g., Gazebo, Isaac Sim)

- Experience with heterogeneous multi-robot systems (UGV, UAV, mobile manipulator)

- Experience with LLM/VLM-based long-horizon planning and failure recovery in robotic systems

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual’s background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.

Why Join FieldAI in Irvine? In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics’ hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models™ raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use. You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.

Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.

We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.

## About FieldAI

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: FieldAI is building the first risk-aware, physics-first foundation model (the Field Foundation Model) that makes robots autonomous in complex, unstructured, and safety-critical real-world environments.
- **Entity Type**: Private (latest funding: Venture Round / Corporate Round; total funding ~$497M)
- **Headquarters**: Irvine, California, United States (with an office in Mission Viejo)
- **Founded**: 2023 (originally known as "AI for Humanity")
- **Founders**: Dr. Ali Agha (CEO) – former NASA JPL Principal Investigator and DARPA challenge winner; Dr. Shayegan Omidshafiei (President & Chief Scientific Officer) – former DeepMind Research Scientist

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Robotics Engineering / Artificial Intelligence (Embodied AI)
- **Target customers**: B2B, Enterprise, Government / Federal agencies, Commercial field operators (construction, industrial, urban operations, mission-critical)
- **Mission / purpose**: "Deploy autonomous robots at scale in any unstructured environment" without reliance on GPS, maps, or pre-trained routes.

## Products & Services
- **[Field Foundation Model (FFM)](https://www.fieldai.com/careers)**: An AI platform that acts as the "general-purpose brain" for robots. It combines data-driven learning with physics-based methods, assesses uncertainty, establishes risk, and adapts autonomously in field conditions. Works across any robot type and continuously improves through a virtuous data flywheel.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric (Total Funding)**: ~$497M across multiple rounds (Seed: $91M, Venture rounds, Corporate round led by Hyundai Motor Group, Series A: $980K led by Temasek Holdings and Prysm Capital) [[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldai)] [[cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/field-ai)]
- **Notable Investors / Partners**: Hyundai Motor Group (corporate round lead), Temasek Holdings, Prysm Capital, plus other visionary institutions.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount of 217 employees (+227.8% YoY) [[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldai)]
  - LinkedIn followers grew +580.4% in the last year (51,728 total) [[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldai)]
  - Technology deployed globally for a decade – from 900 feet underground to advanced commercial, federal, and mission-critical operations [[fieldai.com/careers](https://www.fieldai.com/careers)]
  - Won segments of the DARPA Subterranean Challenge (Urban phase) [[fieldai.com/team](https://www.fieldai.com/team)]

## Competitive Advantages
- **First risk-aware, physics-first foundation model** – unlike pure data-driven or transformer-only approaches.
- **Field-proven reliability** – systems work without GPS, maps, or pre-programmed routes, and dynamically adapt to uncertainty.
- **Virtuous data flywheel** – each deployment increases model reliability across the entire fleet.
- **Exceptional team** – drawn from DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, Nvidia, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX [[fieldai.com/team](https://www.fieldai.com/team)]
- **Strong IP & DARPA pedigree** – led by veterans who have shaped the field of autonomous robotics for nearly two decades.

## Strategic Focus
- **Scale deployment** of the Field Foundation Model across commercial, industrial, and federal sectors.
- **Expand federal division** (FieldAI Federal) led by former DARPA PM and Toyota Research Institute exec Dr. Eric Krotkov [[fieldai.com/team](https://www.fieldai.com/team)]
- **Hire top-tier talent** in embodied AI, software engineering, robotics hardware, and field operations to accelerate product development and real-world impact [[fieldai.com/careers](https://www.fieldai.com/careers)]

## Why Work Here
- **Impact**: Directly shape how intelligent systems operate in the real world – from underground mines to urban search-and-rescue.
- **Culture**: "Creativity, resilience, and bold thinking" – a supportive environment that encourages pushing beyond conventional methods [[fieldai.com/careers](https://www.fieldai.com/careers)].
- **Team**: Work alongside world-class researchers and engineers from DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, and leading autonomy companies.
- **Resources**: Backed by over $100M in funding with strong institutional support – rapid execution and fast-paced growth.
- **Work model**: Likely office-centric given the hardware/robotics focus; headquarters in Irvine, CA, with a distributed presence across 9 countries (US, India, Singapore, Japan, Spain, etc.) [[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldai)].
- **Perks / recognition**: Rated 4.5/5 on employer reviews (16 reviews), with top marks for Culture (4.3) and Career (4.4) [[linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldai)].

## Sources
1. [fieldai.com/careers](https://www.fieldai.com/careers)
2. [linkedin.com/company/fieldai](https://www.linkedin.com/company/fieldai)
3. [fieldai.com/team](https://www.fieldai.com/team)
4. [cbinsights.com/company/field-ai](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/field-ai)
5. [jobs.lever.co/field-ai](https://jobs.lever.co/field-ai)

## Other roles at FieldAI

- [Field Operations Lead (Federal)](https://feeny.ai/job/field-operations-lead-federal-fieldai-irvine-tts4xnz2e07f) — Irvine, CA
- [Global Payroll Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/global-payroll-manager-fieldai-irvine-d472n395vnt0) — Irvine, CA
- [Technical Program Manager, Robotics & Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-program-manager-robotics-autonomy-fieldai-irvine-hq4b6cm05b4f) — Irvine, CA
- [Robotics Applied Scientist, Active Perception](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-applied-scientist-active-perception-fieldai-irvine-a6m619b1t708) — Irvine, CA
- [R&D Technician, Robotics Hardware](https://feeny.ai/job/r-d-technician-robotics-hardware-fieldai-irvine-rp6qa8hv3c1g) — Irvine, CA
- [Robotics Software Engineer, Multimodal Inspection](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-engineer-multimodal-inspection-fieldai-irvine-hwm62nz60x8d) — Irvine, CA
- [Robotics Software Engineer, Mission Evaluation & Fine-Tuning](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-engineer-mission-evaluation-fine-tuning-fieldai-irvine-3bw5m34evzkj) — Irvine, CA
- [Robotics Applied Scientist, Spatio-Temporal Scene Understanding & Memory](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-applied-scientist-spatio-temporal-scene-understanding-memory-fieldai-rg1rtrqsd7pj) — Irvine, CA
- [Robotics Software Engineer, Vision-Language Reasoning & Behaviors](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-engineer-vision-language-reasoning-behaviors-fieldai-irvine-ej5r3tdqa0cs) — Irvine, CA
- [Robotics Research, Robot Learning & Manipulation Intern (Spring, Summer, & Fall 2027)](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-research-robot-learning-manipulation-intern-spring-summer-fall-2027-661t926zt1g1) — Irvine, CA