ML Research Scientist, Prediction & Smart Agents

The mandate of the prediction team is to use advanced machine learning techniques to improve the behavior of the Nuro Driver. As a key member of the Prediction and Smart Agents team, you will focus on building state-of-the-art models for predicting the behavior of surrounding traffic. These models are crucial for our autonomous system, as they will be deployed onboard as part of our planning stack and used offboard for realistic closed-loop simulation. You will explore novel machine learning methods to solve challenging real-world problems in autonomous driving. This work includes using generative sequence modeling approaches for robustly predicting complex, interactive traffic situations. It requires deep reasoning about the intentions of other road users and how their behaviors influence safe and correct driving decisions. You will also use different input modalities, including End-to-End (E2E) approaches, for predicting other agents. A vital component of this role is building smart, controllable agents to enable effective closed-loop training in simulation. If you are passionate about solving challenging new problems, leading impactful research, and seeing your work deployed onto real robots, we encourage you to apply!

You have deep expertise and prior experience in some or many of the following areas: • Education: You have an M.Sc. or Ph.D. (preferable) focusing on one or more of the following areas: Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence, Mathematics, or a closely related field • Expertise: Subject matter expertise and research experience in one or more of the following: sequential decision-making, prediction, Imitation Learning, Deep Reinforcement Learning, generative modeling, large models (pretraining/finetuning), or machine learning for robotics. • Technical Skills: You have strong problem solving and programming skills in Python (required) and C++ (beneficial) and ML frameworks such as PyTorch. • Collaboration: Strong culture fit and good team player. • Experience: You have 2+ years of deploying machine learning systems onboard, ideally in the area of prediction. • Publications: Demonstrated research publications in top conferences (e.g. NeurIPS, ICLR, ICML, CVPR, RSS, CoRL, ICRA, IROS etc.) Nice to have: Deep background in Embodied AI for robotics, Causal reasoning, Model interpretability and explainability, Joint prediction and planning, Understanding of Diffusion Models. At Nuro, your base pay is one part of your total compensation package. For this position, the reasonably expected base pay range is between $193,930 and $291,150 for the level at which this job has been scoped. Your base pay will depend on several factors, including your experience, qualifications, education, location, and skills. In the event that you are considered for a different level, a higher or lower pay range would apply. This position is also eligible for an annual performance bonus, equity, and a competitive benefits package.