Software Engineer, Human-Robot Interaction

About the role

FieldAI is transforming how robots interact with the real world. Our growing R&D team is based in Boston, where we develop risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that tackle the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the potential of embodied intelligence. We take a pragmatic approach that goes beyond off-the-shape, purely data-driven methods or transformer-only architectures, combining cutting-edge research with real-world deployment. Our solutions are already deployed globally, and we continuously improve model performance through rapid iteration driven by real field use.

Responsibilities

• Design & Build Human-Robot Interaction Systems
• Arcitect and implement dialogue systems that enable natural, multimodal communication between operators and robots
• Develop interaction frameworks that adapt to user expertise levels, environmental context, and task requirements
• Create intuitive mechanisms for operators to understand robot intent, state, and decision-making
• Leverage Foundation Models for Intelligent Interaction
• Integrate foundation models into HRI pipelines
• Design systems to improve the efficiency and performance of foundation models on edge
• Evaluate and iterate on model outputs to ensure safe, reliable, and contextually appropriate robot responses
• Bridge Research & Deployment
• Translate HRI research insights into practical, field-deployable systems
• Conduct user studies and field experiments to validate interaction designs
• Build robust systems that perform reliably in unstructured, real-world environments
• Collaborate Across Disciplines
• Partner with perception, planning, and autonomy engineers to create cohesive human-robot experiences
• Work with product and UX teams to align interaction designs with user needs
• Collaborate with customers to develop bespoke HRI solutions and see your work deployed in the field

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Human-Computer Interaction, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience
• Hands-on experience developing human-robot interaction systems, including dialogue systems, natural language interfaces, or multimodal interaction
• Proficiency with foundation models and their integration into production software systems
• Solid understanding of HRI principles, including user modeling, explainability, and trust calibration
• Strong problem-solving skills and ability to thrive in fast-paced, interdisciplinary teams
• Excellent communication skills and a highly collaborative mindset

Qualifications

• Master’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Human-Robot Interaction, or a related field
• Experience with robotics middleware for real-time systems
• Publishations in top-tier venues such as HRI, CHI, ICRA, RSS, CoRL, ACL, or EMNLP
• Experience with speech recognition, natural language understanding, or dialogue management frameworks
• Familiarity with user study design and evaluation methodologies
• Contributions to open-source robotics or NLP projects
• Personal or academic projects demonstrating creativity in human-robot or human-AI interaction

Skills

• Programming skills in Python and C++
• Understanding of HRI principles, including user modeling, explainability, and trust calibration
• Problem-solving skills and ability to thrive in fast-paced, interdisciplinary teams
• Excellent communication skills and a highly collaborative mindset

Benefits

• Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution
• Solving problems at this scale takes a team as unique as the mission
• We are looking for people who push beyond conventional approaches, enjoy tackling tough and ambiguous questions, and bring interdisciplinary perspective
• Our success depends on exceptional AI researchers and engineers, as well as strong software developers, product designers, field deployment experts, and communicators who can turn breakthroughs into real capability
• We are headquartered in Mission Viejo (Irvine adjacent), Southern California, with teammates across the US and around the world
• Join us to shape the future of embodied intelligence as part of a fun, close-knit team building systems that work in the real world

Pay

• Competitive salary commensurate with experience

Schedule

• Full-time

Equal Opportunity

FieldAI celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates and employees are evaluated based on merit, qualifications, and performance. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status. We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses and identifying potential inconsistencies or verification signals in application materials based on available information. 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.