Senior Robotics Data Engineer, Frontier AI & Robotics (FAR)

About the role

Are you interested in solving the most critical operations problem behind cutting-edge robotics development? Interested in fast dynamic environment? Amazon's Frontier AI & Robotics (FAR) team is building advanced robotic systems through frontier foundation models, and high-quality data collection is a core input to that research.

Key job responsibilities

Own the technical execution and continuous improvement of early-stage data collection for advanced robotics. Partner with researchers to translate research objectives into reliable collection workflows, improve data quality, and shorten policy training iteration cycles. Work independently within agreed priorities, providing hands-on technical guidance to data collectors and coordinating execution across research, engineering, and operations.

In this role, you will

• Own end-to-end collection iterations for assigned research tasks, from requirements and station readiness through pilot collection, quality review, and delivery of training-ready data. Coordinate dependencies and resolve blockers to meet agreed quality and turnaround goals.
• Partner with researchers to develop and refine SOPs, translating task objectives, failure modes, and evaluation feedback into clear collection instructions and acceptance criteria. Maintain version control and ensure collectors adopt changes consistently.
• Serve as the technical subject matter expert for assigned collection workflows, equipment, and tools. Independently diagnose complex issues involving robotics hardware, sensors, calibration, collection software, and data integrity; engage engineering partners when resolution requires deeper expertise.
• Provide critical technical direction and coaching to data collectors. Demonstrate correct execution, calibrate collectors against quality standards, and develop their troubleshooting skills and judgment.
• Assess operational and technical risks, including equipment readiness, unsafe conditions, data loss, and quality degradation. Determine when to continue, pause collection, or escalate, and coordinate recovery within established safety and technical boundaries.
• Own collection performance metrics, including usable-data yield, rework, station availability, and iteration turnaround time. Use dashboards and root-cause analysis to identify recurring issues and verify that corrective actions improve results.
• Lead operational improvement projects that reduce collection failures and iteration delays. Develop and implement reusable workflows, troubleshooting guides, readiness checks, and lightweight tooling, and drive adoption across relevant stations, shifts, and partner teams.
• Coordinate technical and nontechnical stakeholders, including researchers, engineering, operations, and annotation partners. Communicate priorities, trade-offs, risks, and decisions clearly, and escalate issues that threaten delivery commitments.

Basic Qualifications

• Can work proactively and independently, meet deadlines, and deliver on projects and tasks
• Bachelor's degree or above in Operations Research, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Engineering, Computer Science or related field, or experience working in Science, Technology, Engineering, or Mathematics (STEM)
• Experience diagnosing hardware, software, or process issues, using evidence to identify root causes and implement corrective actions
• Strong problem-solving and systems-thinking skills, including the ability to assess risks and make sound technical decisions with incomplete information
• Working understanding of how collection quality, task coverage, and consistency affect model training and evaluation, with the ability to translate research requirements into executable procedures and quality checks
• Demonstrated ability to train and mentor others and communicate complex information clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences, including remote teams and colleagues who use English as a second language
• Strong organizational skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities and dependencies across multiple collection tasks

Preferred Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in technical operations, engineering, technical project management, or a related role involving hands-on ownership of complex systems or workflows
• Experience developing SOPs, technical documentation, performance metrics, and process improvements, and ensuring their adoption
• Experience with robotics, teleoperation, egocentric video, or multimodal sensor data
• Experience supporting ML/AI data collection, annotation, quality assurance, or model evaluation workflows
• Familiarity with sensor calibration, timestamp synchronization, pose tracking, and data integrity checks
• Experience using vibe coding agents to build and maintain lightweight operational tools
• Experience taking an experimental workflow from initial pilot through repeatable execution across multiple stations or teams

Additional information

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If the country/region you're applying in isn't listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

Pay and benefits

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave.

USA, CA, San Francisco - 128,000.00 - 214,000.00 USD annually