Senior Robotics & Embodied AI Research Advisor

Embodied AI / Robotics Technical Advisor (SETA)

U.S. Citizenship Required

Location: Remote | Up to 25% travel

Contract: 12-month W2 contract to start; supporting a 5-year program

Clearance: Ability to obtain a Public Trust

Position Overview

We are seeking an experienced Embodied AI / Robotics Technical Advisor (SETA) to support advanced R&D initiatives for ARPA-H.

The role focuses on evaluating emerging embodied AI and robotics technologies, assessing the technical soundness of proposed approaches, helping establish project goals and budgets, and providing technical oversight of funded R&D efforts.

Key Responsibilities

• Assess the state of the art in embodied AI, robotics, and surgical AI
• Evaluate the technical and conceptual soundness of proposed R&D approaches
• Review technical progress, performance, risks, and proposed solutions
• Provide technical evaluation and oversight of funded projects
• Help establish project goals, milestones, expectations, and budgets
• Communicate technical assessments to program stakeholders

Core Technical Areas

• Embodied AI / Physical AI
• Robot learning and imitation learning
• Robotics control systems / learning-based control
• Foundation models for Physical AI / robotics
• World models / world modeling
• Medical and surgical robotics

Required Qualifications

• Strong technical foundation in AI/ML and robotics, with experience relevant to embodied or physical AI
• Experience developing, researching, evaluating, or overseeing advanced technical R&D
• Experience with budgeting and program management
• Master’s in Engineering OR PhD/MD in health or biological sciences
• U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a Public Trust
• Ability to travel up to 25%

Preferred

• Additional expertise in healthcare, medical, biological, or surgical applications