Applied Research Scientist

Senior Applied AI Research Scientist – Robotics & Foundation ModelsLocation: South West England (Hybrid)Job Type: Full-Time | PermanentSalary: Competitive + Equity/Share Options + BenefitsShape the Future of Robot IntelligenceA pioneering robotics company is seeking a Senior Applied AI Research Scientist to help define the next generation of intelligent robotic systems.This is an opportunity to work at the cutting edge of robotics foundation models, embodied AI, reinforcement learning, multimodal learning, and robot intelligence, helping to shape technologies that may define how robots learn and operate over the next three to five years.Rather than focusing solely on deploying existing AI systems, you'll evaluate emerging technologies, build research prototypes, benchmark novel approaches, and influence the long-term AI roadmap of an ambitious robotics organisation developing advanced humanoid robotic platforms.The OpportunityYou will join a highly skilled team exploring future directions in:
Robotics Foundation Models
Vision-Language-Action (VLA) Systems
Embodied AI
Reinforcement Learning
World Models
Multimodal Learning
Diffusion Policies
Long-Horizon Planning
Sim-to-Real Transfer
Advanced Manipulation & Dexterous Robotics
Working closely with AI researchers, robotics engineers, and platform teams, you'll investigate emerging research, validate promising approaches, and develop experimental capabilities that push beyond the current state of the art.Key ResponsibilitiesAdvanced AI & Robotics Research
Explore and evaluate emerging developments in robot learning and embodied intelligence.
Design and execute large-scale research experiments.
Investigate novel architectures, training methodologies, and learning approaches.
Assess how breakthrough AI research can be applied to real-world robotic systems.
Benchmarking & Evaluation
Develop benchmarking frameworks for robotic intelligence and manipulation tasks.
Compare and evaluate emerging foundation models and learning systems.
Identify strengths, weaknesses, and future opportunities across competing approaches.
Prototyping & Innovation
Build research prototypes demonstrating next-generation robotic capabilities.
Create proof-of-concept systems that extend beyond current production capabilities.
Develop technical demonstrations for internal stakeholders and strategic initiatives.
Research Leadership
Publish papers, technical reports, and conference submissions.
Represent the organisation at industry events and conferences.
Contribute to long-term technical strategy and research direction.
Collaborate across AI, robotics, software, and infrastructure teams.
What Success Looks LikeWithin your first year, you will have:
Evaluated major advances in robotics foundation models and embodied AI.
Influenced future AI and robotics strategy.
Developed benchmark suites for assessing robot intelligence.
Demonstrated novel capabilities beyond current production systems.
Identified promising technologies for future deployment.
Published research or presented technical findings externally.
Contributed to positioning the business as a recognised leader in robot learning and AI research.
Essential Requirements
MSc, PhD, or equivalent commercial experience in:
Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
Machine Learning
Computer Science
Related technical disciplines
Strong understanding of modern machine learning and deep learning techniques.
Experience designing and executing research programmes.
Excellent Python programming skills.
Experience training and evaluating machine learning models.
Ability to independently identify research opportunities and drive outcomes.
Strong communication and technical writing skills.
Desirable Experience
Publications at leading AI, machine learning, or robotics conferences.
Experience with robot learning on physical hardware.
Training large-scale foundation models.
Reinforcement learning for manipulation tasks.
Embodied AI evaluation methodologies.
Experience working within fast-paced research environments, scale-ups, or startups.
Why Apply?This role offers a rare opportunity to combine:✅ Ground-breaking AI research✅ Access to advanced robotic platforms✅ Large-scale training infrastructure✅ Real-world robotics deployment opportunities✅ Freedom to explore ambitious ideas✅ Competitive salary and equity participation✅ Health benefits and conference attendance support✅ A collaborative, highly technical engineering cultureInterested?If you're passionate about the future of embodied AI, robot learning, foundation models, and intelligent autonomous systems, we'd love to hear from you.Apply now or contact us confidentially for further information.