AI Robotics Researcher

NIO Inc. is a pioneer and a leading company in the global smart electric vehicle market. Founded in November 2014, NIO aspires to shape a sustainable and brighter future with the mission of “Blue Sky Coming”.

NIO envisions itself as a user enterprise where innovative technology meets experience excellence. NIO designs, develops, manufactures and sells smart electric vehicles, driving innovations in next-generation core technologies. NIO distinguishes itself through continuous technological breakthroughs and innovations, exceptional products and services, and a community for shared growth.

NIO provides premium smart electric vehicles under the NIO brand, premium smart electric vehicles for families through the ONVO brand, and small smart high-end electric cars with the FIREFLY brand.

We are seeking exceptional AI Robotics Researchers to join our next-generation intelligent systems team—pioneering the intersection of embodied AI
, dexterous robotic manipulation
, and physical world understanding
. This role is ideal for PhD students or recent graduates passionate about bridging fundamental AI research with real-world robotic impact
—from developing generalizable models for robot perception and control to enabling dexterous robotic hands to manipulate complex objects in unstructured environments.

You will tackle challenges that lie at the heart of embodied intelligence:
how robots perceive, reason, and act in the physical world. You’ll work on models that unify visual, tactile, and proprioceptive learning; build world models that enable prediction and generalization; and deploy AI-driven robots that interact safely and effectively in the real world.

Your work won’t stay on paper—you’ll see it come to life through physical robots performing complex tasks, making your research tangible, visible, and impactful across warehouses, factories, and mobility environments. This position offers the rare opportunity to combine cutting-edge research freedom with practical real-world deployment, shaping the next wave of intelligent embodied systems.

• Conduct original research in
  embodied AI
  ,
  robotic manipulation
  , and
  world modeling
  —including perception, planning, and control.
• Develop and evaluate large-scale multimodal models that integrate
  vision, language, proprioception, and tactile inputs
  for real-world robotic tasks.
• Create and prototype algorithms for
  dexterous robotic hands
  ,
  contact-rich manipulation
  , and
  adaptive task generalization
  .
• Explore methods for
  sim-to-real transfer
  ,
  self-supervised physical interaction learning
  , and
  reinforcement learning in dynamic environments
  .
• Collaborate with hardware and systems teams to translate research into
  real robotic systems
  —from simulation to physical deployment.
• Publish and present your work at top-tier venues (e.g., CoRL, ICRA, RSS, NeurIPS) and contribute to advancing the state of embodied AI globally.
• Shape the long-term roadmap of NIO’s embodied intelligence initiative, defining the frontier of AI-powered robotics in real-world domains.

• Master’s or Ph.D. in
  Robotics, Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence,Mechanical/Electrical Engineering
  , or related fields.
• Deep understanding of
  robot learning
  ,
  reinforcement learning
  ,
  imitation learning
  ,
  world modeling
  , or
  differentiable physics simulation
  .
• Hands‑on experience with
  robotic manipulation
  ,
  grasp planning
  ,
  tactile sensing
  , or
  multi‑sensor fusion
  .
• Proficiency in
  Python
  and modern ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, JAX, Tensor Flow), and robotics middleware such as
  ROS2
  .
• Demonstrated ability to conduct independent research and publish in leading AI/robotics venues.
• Strong analytical and system‑building skills; ability to work across simulation, perception, control, and physical robot…