Senior Robotics Research Engineer - Drug Discovery

3w3 weeks ago

NVIDIA

Santa Clara, US · Full-time · $184,000 – $356,500

About this role

NVIDIA’s Seattle Robotics Lab is focused on fundamental and applied robotics research across perception, planning, control, reinforcement learning, imitation learning, simulation, world models, and multimodal action models. The lab has published 450+ scientific papers at top robotics, AI, and computer vision conferences. NVIDIA and Eli Lilly announced a co-innovation AI lab to reinvent drug discovery using robotics for wet labs with scientists in the loop.

Build digital twins of robots, laboratory environments, and scientific procedures using NVIDIA Isaac Sim, Isaac Lab, and Matterix. Develop perception pipelines for object detection, pose estimation, and tracking with multisensory inputs and foundation models. Train robots for contact-rich manipulation via imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and high-performance control.

Translate experimental protocols into executable procedures and collision-free trajectories using VLMs and task/motion planning. Build real-world systems for discovery, manufacturing, testing, and validation with high reliability. Integrate systems into biological experiment workflows.

Collaborate with Seattle Robotics Lab scientists to elevate research into automation stacks. Partner with NVIDIA + Lilly experts in computational biology, chemistry, generative AI, and bioinformatics. Co-author publications at high-impact journals and conferences.

Requirements

PhD in Robotics, Machine Learning, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent experience)
At least 3 years of research and engineering experience
Experience with robotics simulation frameworks like Isaac Sim and Isaac Lab
Background in perception, planning, control, reinforcement learning, and imitation learning
Expertise in developing real-world robotic systems for manipulation tasks
Familiarity with multisensory perception and foundation models
Strong track record of publications in robotics, AI, or computer vision conferences

Responsibilities

Build digital twins of robots, laboratory environments, and scientific procedures using NVIDIA Isaac Sim, Isaac Lab, and Matterix
Simulate physics of robots, articulated rigid bodies, deformable objects, granular media, and fluids using NVIDIA Newton
Develop perception pipelines for object detection, pose estimation, and tracking leveraging multisensory inputs and foundation models
Translate experimental protocols into executable physical procedures and smooth, collision-free trajectories using VLMs and task/motion planning
Train robots to solve contact-rich manipulation tasks through imitation learning, reinforcement learning, and high-performance control
Build real-world systems that perform discovery, manufacturing, testing, and validation procedures with high reliability and efficiency
Integrate systems into real-world biological experiment workflows
Collaborate with research scientists in the Seattle Robotics Lab and NVIDIA + Lilly Co-innovation AI Lab