Back to Jobs

Reinforcement Learning & Controls Research Scientist- Spot Behavior

Boston Dynamics
Massachusetts
At Boston Dynamics, we are pushing the boundaries of what legged robots can do in the real world. The Spot Behavior team is building next-generation locomotion and mobility capabilities, and we are seeking a curious, driven engineer to develop reinforcement learning solutions that run directly on our quadruped platforms. In this role, you will design, train, and deploy RL policies that integrate tightly with Spot's control stack to deliver robust, agile behavior across real-world environments.

Day-to-Day Activities

  • Design and deploy RL systems that improve Spot's mobility and robustness across challenging terrain.
  • Tune and validate low-level controllers (e.g., PD/PID, whole-body control) at the interface with learned policies.
  • Build and maintain simulation environments (e.g., Isaac Sim, MuJoCo) to train and validate policies before hardware deployment.
  • Analyze robot data logs to diagnose control failures and iterate on controller design.
  • Test and debug directly on our in-house Spot fleet, taking a first-principles approach to failure analysis.
  • Write production-ready code in Python and C++.

We Are Looking For

  • MS or PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
  • 3–6 years of experience deploying RL or learning-based control policies on physical hardware.
  • Strong foundations in classical control theory, including stability analysis, state estimation, and low-level actuation.
  • Experience with real-time software constraints and control loop design.
  • Proficiency in Python and C++.
  • Familiarity with modern deep RL frameworks (e.g., PyTorch, RLlib).

Nice To Have

  • Experience with legged robotics or contact-rich locomotion systems.
  • PhD in a relevant field.
  • Familiarity with whole-body control or model predictive control (MPC) for legged systems.
  • Experience with state estimators (e.g., EKF, contact estimation) in robotics.
  • Experience with sim-to-real transfer and domain randomization.

The base pay range for this position is between $177,000 to $225,000 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.
Posted 2026-07-24

Recommended Jobs

Law Firm Administrator

Law Office of Polly Tatum
Worcester, MA

Job Description Job Description The Law Office of Polly Tatum is seeking a high-level Legal Administrator / Director of Operations to work directly with firm leadership and drive operational exce…

View Details
Posted 2026-07-17

Engineering Manager

EPropelled Inc
Lowell, MA

Job Description Job Description ePropelled is the leader in magnetic engineering innovations that dramatically improve electric motor and generator efficiency for propulsion applications such as …

View Details
Posted 2026-07-04

Travel PACU RN - $2,394 per week

GHR Healthcare
Boston, MA

GHR Healthcare is seeking a travel nurse RN PACU - Post Anesthesia Care for a travel nursing job in Boston, Massachusetts. Job Description & Requirements ~ Specialty: PACU - Post Anesthesia Car…

View Details
Posted 2026-07-24

Senior Associate Scientist - Discovery Research, Regeneron Cell Medicines

Regeneron
Cambridge, MA

We are seeking a highly motivated and innovative Senior Associate Scientist to join our discovery research team at Regeneron Cell Medicines. You will be performing immunological functional assays f…

View Details
Posted 2026-06-25

WE ARE HIRING

Holyoke, MA

CALL: 413-388-2361

View Details
Posted 2026-06-22

Adult Outpatient Psychiatrist Opportunities

Cambridge Health Alliance
Cambridge, MA

Requisition Number: CHAP-1507-3 Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA), a well-respected, nationally recognized and award-winning public healthcare system is seeking Full-time or Part-time Psychiatrists t…

View Details
Posted 2026-06-05

Floating Area Community Manager - New England

Greystar
Boston, MA

ABOUT GREYSTAR Greystar is a leading, fully integrated global real estate platform offering expertise in property management, investment management, development, and construction services in ins…

View Details
Posted 2025-12-09

Mechanical Engineer

EPC STAFF Acquisition and Development, LLC
Boston, MA

Job Description Job Description Mechanical Engineer / Project Manager Boston, MA Direct Hire/ Permanent Placement $80k-$120k, Hybrid, Full Benefits, Bonuses, 401k match EPC STAFF wor…

View Details
Posted 2026-06-18

Veterinary Technician/Assistant - ECC

MSPCA - Angell
Boston, MA

Job Description Job Description Full time day and evening positions with a guaranteed paid 40 hours a week! Additional shift differential pay for 2nd($2.50) . Time and 1/2 pay for overtime over 4…

View Details
Posted 2026-05-30