Research Scientist, Reinforcement Learning - Atlas

At Boston Dynamics, we are pushing the boundaries of what advanced humanoid robots can do in the real world. The Atlas team is building next-generation whole-body mobile manipulation capabilities, and we are seeking a curious, driven

Research Scientist

to develop cutting-edge reinforcement learning (RL) solutions that run directly on our humanoid platforms.

In this role, you will design, train, and deploy RL policies that combine whole-body movement and dexterous manipulation to solve complex tasks in unstructured environments. You’ll work with a world-class team of roboticists and have rare, direct access to our physical Atlas robots and large-scale simulation infrastructure.

What You’ll Do

• 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.

We’re Looking For

• 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.

Nice to Have

• 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).

Why Join Us

• Direct access to cutting-edge humanoid robots and the infrastructure to run large-scale RL experiments.

• A highly collaborative, mission-driven team where your work has immediate impact.

• The opportunity to define state-of-the-art humanoid capabilities and shape the future of real-world robotics.

The base pay range for this position is between $175,000 to $230,000 annually. Base pay will depend on multiple individualized factors including, but not limited to internal equity, job related knowledge, skills and experience. This range represents a good faith estimate of compensation at the time of posting. Boston Dynamics offers a generous Benefits package including medical, dental vision, 401(k), paid time off and a annual bonus structure. Additional details regarding these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer for employment. We are growing rapidly, building a commercial company that delivers cutting edge technology and solutions to our customers from industrial applications to logistics and warehouse solutions.