Research Engineer, Robotics Evals

hud (YC W25)

. Research data needs of robot learning and physical AI systems and turn them into dataset and evaluation specifications .

Posted 10/3/2026full-timeSan Francisco • California • United StatesMid-LevelSenior💰 $80,000 - $230,000 per yearWebsite

Core Competencies

Role fit

Core Competencies

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Demonstrates expertise in robotics data management, including defining data schemas, quality standards, and validation workflows. Proficient in Python for building data processing tools and analyzing model behavior to enhance data quality and performance.

Highest-signal resume keywords

Robotics Data ManagementPython ProficiencyData Quality AnalysisDataset Specification DevelopmentMultimodal Research Experience

ATS Keywords

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Applicant Tracking System Keywords

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Hard Skills

Data ProcessingData AnalysisDataset SpecificationQuality Standards DefinitionExperiment DesignRobotics Data TypesImitation LearningReinforcement LearningVision-Language-Action ModelsAttention to Detail

Soft Skills

CollaborationAnalytical AbilityAttention to Detail

Tools & Technologies

Data Validation WorkflowsResearch ToolsData Collection Protocols

Industry Keywords

Robot LearningEmbodied AIMultimodal ResearchRobotics DatasetsRobot TrajectoriesSensor DataSimulation

Tech Stack

Tools & technologies

Python

About the role

Key responsibilities & impact

Research data needs of robot learning and physical AI systems and turn them into dataset and evaluation specifications
Define data schemas, annotations, ground truth, and quality standards across robotics data types
Design collection and review protocols for external data providers
Build tools and validation workflows to audit datasets, identify quality issues, and provide actionable feedback
Run experiments and analyze model behavior to understand how data quality, coverage, and structure affect performance
Collaborate with HUD’s research and engineering teams, data vendors, and buyers to improve robotics data offerings
Participate in two technical interviews and a 2–3 day work trial during the hiring process

Requirements

What you’ll need

Experience in robotics, robot learning, embodied AI, or closely related multimodal research
Proficiency in Python and experience building data processing, analysis, or evaluation tools
Experience turning research questions into dataset specifications, experiments, and measurable quality criteria
Strong understanding of what makes robotics data useful for training or evaluation—and where it can be misleading
Attention to detail and ability to spot subtle errors, coverage gaps, and failure modes in complex data
Experience building research tools or pipelines without a fully prescribed roadmap
Experience with robot trajectories, demonstrations, video, sensor data, simulation, or other multimodal robotics datasets may be beneficial
Experience with imitation learning, reinforcement learning, or vision-language-action models may be beneficial
Ability to work hours that 70–80% overlap with either San Francisco or Singapore time zones
LinkedIn profile or resume required (at least one)
Quantitative or analytical ability demonstrated through standardized test scores, math/CS contest rankings, publications/patents, or difficult/notable technical projects

Benefits

Comp & perks

100% covered top-of-the-line medical, dental, and vision from Blue Shield of CA (US employees)
Lunch and dinner when you’re in the office (in-office employees)
Company-wide holiday break (Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day) on top of PTO and paid holidays
Equinox membership
401k (US employees)
Commuter benefits (US employees)
Unlimited* access to tokens for ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, etc.
Support for relocation and visas for strong full-time candidates to the US or Singapore