Robotics Researcher

About the role

Rockwell Automation's Robotics Center of Excellence is looking for a Robotics Researcher to push the boundaries of what AI and robotics can do in the physical world. The role leads projects across the full stack of physical intelligence, from high-level reasoning to low-level control, and focuses on embodied intelligence that lets robots see, reason and manipulate like humans. It is a hybrid position in Waterloo, Ontario, reporting to the Sr. Manager, Mobile Robot Technology.

Key responsibilities

• Design and deploy state-of-the-art algorithms for robotic perception, planning and dexterous manipulation
• Train and fine-tune large-scale foundation models (VLAs/VLMs) for real-world industrial tasks
• Build sim-to-real pipelines to accelerate policy training
• Benchmark emerging robotics trends and academic breakthroughs
• Write clean, scalable code using modern system programming languages
• Work with Business Units to optimize robotic systems for new AI-driven capabilities
• Document research in technical reports, white papers and publications

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent years of relevant work experience
• Preferred: 5+ years of hands-on robotics research or high-tech R&D experience, and a graduate degree (MSc or PhD) in Computer Science, Robotics or a related field
• Proven research record with publications in top conferences or journals
• Deep knowledge of Reinforcement Learning, Vision Language Models and/or World Models
• Experience in robotic grasping, 6D pose estimation and multi-modal sensor fusion (vision, tactile, force/torque)
• Ability to develop and curate large multi-modal datasets from real and synthetic data

Required skills

• PyTorch and TensorFlow
• Isaac Lab
• ROS/ROS2 (an extra)
• CUDA, TPUs, JAX, Warp (extras)
• Distributed GPU computing (extra)

What we offer

• Target annual compensation of $121,440 to $182,160 CAD, depending on skills, education and experience
• Medical and dental health insurance, HCSA and EAP
• Retirement plans, employer-paid DC pension and savings plan matching
• Paid time off, volunteering time off and maternity/parental leave top-up
• Fitness reimbursement and flexible work schedule