Toyota Research Institute - Machine Learning Research Scientist, Mechanical Intuition in Multimodal Models

• A PhD in a relevant field such as Computer Science, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related discipline, completed recently (or nearing completion), with some post-PhD or internship work experience. • A demonstrated track record of implementing non-trivial learning systems — not just running baselines, but building pipelines and components from scratch. • Hands-on experience with policy learning, reinforcement learning, or robot learning, with strong intuitions about what makes these approaches succeed or fail in practice. • Proficiency in Python and comfort working across the full stack of a research project, from data processing to model training to evaluation. • Genuine interest in how physical products are designed and manufactured. • Familiarity with large language models, vision-language models, or agentic AI frameworks, particularly in contexts involving structured reasoning or tool use. • Experience with robot manipulation, motion planning, or sim-to-real transfer. • Exposure to manufacturing processes, assembly planning, or CAD/CAM toolchains. • Experience building or contributing to production-level research codebases. • The pay range for this position at commencement of employment is expected to be between $176,000 and $253,000/year for California-based roles, and between $158,400 and $227,700/year for Massachusetts-based roles. Base pay offered will depend on multiple individualized factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate's experience, skills, job-related knowledge, and market location. TRI offers a generous benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401(k) eligibility, paid time off benefits (including vacation, sick time, and parental leave), and an annual cash bonus structure. Additional details regarding these benefit plans will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment. • Please reference this Candidate Privacy Notice to inform you of the categories of personal information that we collect from individuals who inquire about and/or apply to work for Toyota Research Institute, Inc. or its subsidiaries, including Toyota A.I. Ventures GP, L.P., and the purposes for which we use such personal information. • TRI is fueled by a diverse and inclusive community of people with unique backgrounds, education and life experiences. We are dedicated to fostering an innovative and collaborative environment by living the values that are an essential part of our culture. We believe diversity makes us stronger and are proud to provide Equal Employment Opportunity for all, without regard to an applicant’s race, color, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, medical condition, religion, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other status protected under federal, state or local laws. • It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, we will consider qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records for employment. • We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.