⁠⁠Machine Learning Engineer

Deft Robotics
Deft Robotics

Software Engineering, Data Science

San Francisco, CA, USA

USD 150k-200k / year + Equity

Posted on Jul 23, 2026
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Machine Learning Engineer

What you'll do

  • Design and develop a modular robot autonomy stack that composes Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models with purpose-built modules to enable grasping and dexterous behaviors in unstructured environments
  • Develop action refinement and safety layers that post-process VLA outputs — constraint satisfaction, collision and force guards, smoothing, and runtime monitors for safety-critical deployment
  • Architect clean interfaces and abstractions around base VLA models so they can be swapped, benchmarked, and upgraded as the SOTA evolves — keeping the stack model-agnostic
  • Design and maintain robust data collection and curation pipelines for production robot fleets
  • Build reliable, high-speed robot autonomy software stack optimized for inference

performance

  • Advance SOTA dexterous manipulation architecture through novel methodologies while bridging theory & practice—real customer use-cases with clear success criteria.

Required Qualifications

  • PhD or MS degree in Computer Science, Machine Learning, Robotics, or equivalent technical discipline
  • Deep expertise in machine learning fundamentals, reinforcement learning, and associated frameworks (PyTorch, TensorFlow, Ray, etc.)
  • 3+ years of proven track record developing and deploying ML systems from research through production implementation
  • Hands-on experience with model lifecycle management including training, deployment, and maintenance in production settings

Preferred Qualifications

  • Authored or co-authored peer-reviewed publications in robotics or related fields
  • Hands-on experience designing and implementing bimanual manipulation tech stacks with imitation learning or RL-based methods
  • Background in real-time ML inference systems, simulation-to-reality transfer, or advanced reinforcement learning implementations

Benefits

  • We support publishing at top robotics/ML venues and presenting at conferences (travel + time fully covered).
  • Medical, dental & vision plans
  • Daily meals stipend

Hiring Process

  • Phone screen + 2 virtual technical interviews + onsite

Expected Compensation

  • $150,000 - $200,000 annual salary + cash and stock awards + benefits
  • The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components/benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.

Application

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Resume

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What is the hardest problem you've worked on (or describe your most significant research result)? How did you solve it?

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When is the earliest date you can start?

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Onsite Work Requirement

Required

This is a full-time, five-day-a-week onsite role in our San Francisco, CA, office. Please confirm if you can meet this onsite requirement.

US Work Authorization

Required

Are you a US Citizen, Green Card Holder or Valid Visa Holder (H1-B, O-1, TN, E-3, OPT, etc)?