Principal/Senior Robotics AI Architect (San Jose)

WHAT YOU DO AT AMD CHANGES EVERYTHING At AMD, our mission is to build great products that accelerate next-generation computing experiences—from AI and data centers, to PCs, gaming and embedded systems. Grounded in a culture of innovation and collaboration, we believe real progress comes from bold ideas, human ingenuity and a shared passion to create something extraordinary. When you join AMD, you’ll discover the real differentiator is our culture. We push the limits of innovation to solve the world’s most important challenges—striving for execution excellence, while being direct, humble, collaborative, and inclusive of diverse perspectives. Join us as we shape the future of AI and beyond. Together, we advance your career. THE ROLE: We are seeking a Robotics AI Architect to define and scale next-generation Physical AI systems, with a focus on complex robotic platforms (including humanoids). This role emphasizes architectural leadership across multi-layer AI control loops and tight collaboration with lighthouse customers to achieve production-grade performance targets.THE PERSON:As a key technical authority, you will synthesize learnings from real-world deployments and translate them into platform-defining capabilities, shaping the roadmap for our AI SDKs, runtime, and reference architectures to enable broad ecosystem scalability.KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: End-to-End AI Control Loop Architecture (Core Focus)Define architecture for hierarchical AI control loops, including:Perception (sensor fusion, VLMs, state estimation)World modeling and scene understandingTask and motion planningLow-latency control and actuationLearning and adaptation loopsEstablish timing models and system-level constraints:Deterministic execution for control loops (µs–ms)Bounded latency for perception/planning (ms-scale)Guide architectural decisions to:Minimize latency, jitter, and data movementOptimize compute utilization across heterogeneous systemsInfluence compute-software co-design across CPU, GPU, and acceleratorsLighthouse Customer Co‑EngineeringAct as architectural lead for strategic/lighthouse customers, guiding:System design decisionsPerformance trade-offsDeployment architectureInfluence customer implementations to align with:Platform best practicesScalable architectural patternsTranslate real-world constraints (latency, power, safety) into:Platform requirementsArchitecture refinementsLead deep technical engagements, including:Architecture and design reviewsPerformance tuning strategiesSystem-level debugging approachesInfluencing Robotics Reference Architectures, Platform Architecture & SDKs Define reference architecture for complex robotic systems (humanoids, high-DoF manipulators, mobile manipulation platforms), establishing industry-leading blueprints for Physical AI systemsInfluencearchitectural partitioning strategies across:On-robot compute (real-time loops)Edge/accelerator subsystemsCloud (training, simulation, fleet learning)Provide architectural guidance on:Whole-body control integrationLocomotion and balance systemsDexterous manipulation pipelinesMulti-modal perception stacksServe as abridge between lighthouse deployments and platform evolution, translating system-level insights into:SDK feature directionRuntime and middleware enhancementsReference pipeline abstractionsShape the roadmap of:Physical AI SDK and runtime frameworksRobotics middleware integrations (ROS2 and beyond)Dataflow and scheduling architectures for deterministic executionIdentify systemic gaps and influence solutions in:Scheduling and orchestration modelsMemory and dataflow efficiencyInter-process/inter-node communicationReal-time guarantees and QoS mechanismsDrive the creation of scalable architectural patterns, including:Reusable operator graphs and pipelinesStandardized deployment topologiesBenchmark and validation frameworksEnsure that lighthouse customer learnings are abstracted and generalized into:Repeatable reference architecturesPlatform capabilities consumable across a wide customer basePREFERRED EXPERIENCE: Experience in Robotics, Autonomous systems AI architecture, definition and development, RL work, Sim-to-real, cloud-to-sim, real-to-sim/cloud from AI perspective.Proven technical leadership experience influencing external and internal stakeholdersDeep understanding of:AI inference runtimes and deployment tradeoffsSystem architecture level CPU/GPU/NPU scheduling and contentionSystem‑level performance, latency, and isolationSoftware frameworks and usage (multimedia, ROS2, OpenCV, gstreamer etc.)Industry leading SW inference frameworks (vLLM etc.), runtimes, toolsPerformance bottleneck, characterizationDeterminism, real-time and safety considerations in mixed-criticality systemsAbility to engage credibly with customer’s engineering leaders, AI architectsTrack record of transforming customer deployments into platform and roadmap feedbackHands-on architects who can guide engineers, debug problems, create innovative PoCs as well as abstract unnecessary details for executive presentationsFamiliarity/experience with AMD GPU and NPU AI SW stacks and tools will be a plusACADEMIC CREDENTIALS: Bachelor’s or Master’s in Electrical Engineer, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related field This role is not eligible for visa sponsorship.#LI-JG1Benefits offered are described: AMD benefits at a glance.AMD does not accept unsolicited resumes from headhunters, recruitment agencies, or fee-based recruitment services. AMD and its subsidiaries are equal opportunity, inclusive employers and will consider all applicants without regard to age, ancestry, color, marital status, medical condition, mental or physical disability, national origin, race, religion, political and/or third-party affiliation, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates and will accommodate applicants’ needs under the respective laws throughout all stages of the recruitment and selection process.AMD may use Artificial Intelligence to help screen, assess or select applicants for this position. AMD’s “Responsible AI Policy” is available here.This posting is for an existing vacancy.