Robotics Physics Simulation Engineer, Large Behavior Models
Toyota Research InstituteLos Altos, California
Full Time
Posted May 16, 2025
$180k - $270k
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Job Description
The Robotics Physics Simulation Engineer at Toyota Research Institute is responsible for developing high-fidelity, high-performance simulation tools for modeling robot dynamics, manipulation, and perception, contributing to the advancement of open-source robotics software and supporting the creation of general-purpose robots capable of operating reliably in unstructured environments.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and improve physics-based, high-fidelity simulation tools for modeling robot and vehicle interactions with environments.
- Implement multibody dynamics, rigid and soft body mechanics, and computational geometry algorithms.
- Create and optimize differentiable, symbolically analyzable hybrid dynamic system abstractions and infrastructure.
- Design and develop solvers for dynamic systems, including numerical integration of DAEs, time stepping, and event handling.
- Validate simulation accuracy and verify software and numerical methods through testing and analysis.
- Contribute high-quality, performant C code to advance the Drake robotics software suite.
Requirements
- Proficiency in programming and enjoyment of crafting correct, appealing, and performant advanced C code.
- Experience in developing or working with physics-based, high-fidelity, high-performance software tools for simulation of robots and vehicles interacting with their environments.
- Knowledge of multibody dynamics, rigid and soft body computational mechanics.
- Experience with hybrid dynamic system abstraction and infrastructure similar to Simulink blocks, but differentiable and symbolically analyzable.
- Familiarity with solvers for dynamic systems including numerical integration of Differential-Algebraic Equations (DAEs), time stepping, and event handling.
- Experience with computational geometry and contact response emphasizing manipulation.
- Ability to validate simulation accuracy and verify software and numerical methods.
- Experience working with open-source, modern C software developed using rigorous standard methodologies, including extensive unit and validation tests, and collaborative pre-merge peer review.
- Educational background in a relevant field such as computer science, robotics, mechanical engineering, or related disciplines (implied by the need for technical expertise).
- Ability to contribute both quality code and novel solutions to open problems in robotics simulation and dynamics.
- Willingness to work as part of a team consisting of computer scientists and engineers trained at leading academic institutions and innovative companies, with research and practical experience in robotics, computer graphics, computational geometry and mechanics, multibody dynamics, numerical methods, and software engineering.
- Understanding that the position involves contributing to the development of open-source robotics software and advancing simulation capabilities.
- Availability to work in California-based roles with a salary expectation within the range of $180,000 to $270,000 per year.
- Acceptance of a benefits package including 401(k) eligibility, paid time off (vacation, sick leave, parental leave), and an annual cash bonus (implied as mandatory components of employment).
Benefits & Perks
Salary range between 180,000 and 270,000 USD per year
Work schedule details not specified
Work environment perks include 401(k) eligibility, various paid time off benefits such as vacation, sick leave, and parental leave
Annual cash bonus structure
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