Senior Applied Scientist, Robotics - Vulcan Stow

Senior Applied Scientist, Amazon Robotics - Vulcan Stow

Job :  |  Services LLC

Amazon Robotics Vulcan is a robotic stowing system that uses a robot arm with a custom end‑of‑arm tool to place customer items into fulfillment center storage bins, alongside human associates. We operate in live fulfillment centers today and are scaling to additional sites globally. The Vulcan Motion team owns the motion stack that makes every interaction between the robot and the bin safe, fast, and predictable: real‑time force‑controlled manipulation, motion planning for insert and retract behaviors, compliant contact behaviors, and the safety envelope around all of it.

We have many areas that need experienced scientists to drive from prototype to deployment at a global scale. For example: the framework our team uses to design, benchmark, and select controllers for each contact‑rich behavior; the long‑term controller roadmap with our industrial robot‑arm vendors; the functional‑safety envelope for live deployment; and the recovery architecture the robot uses when unexpected contact occurs.

You may own one or two of these arcs depending on team needs and your strengths.

This is a hands‑on technical leadership role. You will write production C++ and Python, review code, and hold the technical bar on real‑time control design selections that affect every cycle the robot executes. You will lead collaborations between our team and external partner teams in vision, hardware, and operations.

• Research, propose, architect, and deliver complex features such as unified contact‑control frameworks, robot‑arm integration roadmaps, functional‑safety envelopes, and motion recovery architectures.
• Bring recent scientific advances in force control, compliant manipulation, and sim‑to‑real transfer into production.
• Lead significant architectural and strategic initiatives together with more junior teammates.
• Work across cross‑disciplinary teams (hardware, safety, operations, vendor engineering) to deliver novel, synergistic features and capabilities.
• Stay current with recent advances in robotics control, manipulation, and industrial automation.
• Own the technical bar on real‑time control design decisions and serve as the senior technical interface to external robot‑arm engineering teams.

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
• Maternity and Parental Leave Options
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 401(k) Plan

Motion is one of several teams inside Amazon Robotics Vulcan. We ship weekly to live fulfillment centers, operate a fast iteration loop with real production data, and work across the full motion stack, from real‑time controllers on hardware up through mission‑level motion planning. We are looking for a senior Applied Scientist to help drive the next generation of robot behaviors alongside a strong existing team.

If you want to go deep on controls problems, stay hands‑on with hardware, and contribute to architectural direction, this role is for you.

• PhD, or Master’s degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
• Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
• 5+ years of experience designing and deploying motion controllers for robotic manipulators in industrial, collaborative, or research settings (e.g., warehouse robotics, exoskeletons, home robots, aerospace, or equivalent)
• Hands‑on experience with force‑and‑torque‑feedback control, admittance control, or compliant manipulation on physical hardware
• Experience with real‑time, high‑rate control systems

• Experience deploying and supporting complex robotic systems at scale
• Sim‑to‑real deployment experience using physics simulators such as Mu Jo Co , Isaac Sim, or Gazebo
• Experience applying high‑performance motion planning and controls to third‑party robot arms
• Publications at relevant conferences such as IROS, ICRA, RSS, CoRL, ROMAN, CASE, Humanoids, or in journals such as T‑RO, RA‑L, IJRR on contact‑based manipulation, motion planning, force control, or sim‑to‑real transfer

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

The base salary range for this position is  –  USD annually.