Founding Senior Research Scientist – Physical AI (Models and/or Robotics) F/M

Company

Adoc Talent Management is supporting the recruitment of a Founding Senior Research Scientist – Physical AI for a San Francisco-based company, part of Y Combinator’s 2026 cohort, whose work focuses on collecting human and robotic data to train robots.

The company specializes in collecting first-person, real-world data, at a scale and speed that research laboratories cannot readily achieve independently. To ensure traceability and quality, each contributor’s identity is verified through KYC procedures, and every contribution undergoes several quality-control checks before reaching clients.

Looking ahead, the company aims to play a leading role in deploying robots at scale and making the data needed to advance Physical AI more accessible.

To support this ambition, the company is establishing Hub Labs, a research laboratory in Toulouse, France. With access to a large and varied body of data collected directly from contributors, the laboratory will conduct research to support the future deployment of the company’s robot fleet.

The team develops the infrastructure needed to turn research ideas into results quickly and at scale, transforming those results into data that can be used by teams training future AI models.

Position

As Founding Senior Research Scientist – Physical AI, you will contribute to defining and developing the research program of a new laboratory. Working closely with the laboratory's leadership, you will combine scientific independence with hands-on research, helping determine which questions to investigate and how to build a coherent research direction over time.

A central area of interest is world models and the role of real-world data in Physical AI. Two important questions are what data AI systems need to learn about the physical world, and what data enables them to adapt as conditions change after deployment. These questions provide a starting point for the research program, while leaving room for you to identify promising approaches and propose new directions based on your expertise.

Your first priorities will include assessing the state of the art, identifying relevant research opportunities and contributing to the laboratory's initial research roadmap. This will involve balancing immediate company needs with longer-term scientific ambitions, preparing an initial research survey, identifying opportunities for a research paper or workshop contribution, and helping develop a longer-term research vision over a five-to-ten-year horizon.

You will then investigate selected research questions through original scientific work. This includes formulating hypotheses, developing and testing approaches, designing experiments, analyzing results and remaining directly involved in coding and experimentation. Relevant research areas may include world models and model-based planning, reinforcement learning, large-model training and post-training, robot learning and control, physical simulation, and self-supervised learning from video and 3D data. The precise direction will depend on your expertise and the research priorities established with the team.

Scientific publications will be an important part of the position. You will contribute to research intended for leading conferences and journals in machine learning, computer vision and robotics, and engage with workshops and research discussions involving leading academic and industrial teams. Establishing the laboratory's scientific credibility will be a key objective, supported by rigorous research, relevant publications and meaningful engagement with the wider research community.

The role also involves developing research collaborations. You will work with external AI and robotics teams using the company's data, exchange ideas with academic and industrial researchers, and contribute to collaborative research initiatives. Where appropriate, research outputs may include open benchmarks, datasets and other openly available contributions. The intention is to support scientific publications and open research, with the boundaries around confidential work established in advance.

The research environment includes large-scale, real-world recordings, a teleoperation laboratory in Toulouse with robotic cells, and computing resources for machine learning research. These resources provide opportunities to investigate the relationship between data collection, model learning and the development of physical AI systems.

You will also contribute to the development of the research team by supervising and mentoring junior researchers, PhD students and interns, where applicable. In addition, you will communicate relevant scientific developments and publication trends to company leadership, helping connect the laboratory's research direction with the company's broader objectives.

This is a founding research position that combines scientific leadership with direct involvement in research. It is suited to someone who wants to investigate open scientific questions while helping shape the priorities, collaborations and research practices of a new laboratory.

Profile

You hold a PhD in machine learning, robotics, applied mathematics, physics, mechanics or a related field, followed by several years of research experience in academia or industry.

You have developed deep expertise in at least one area relevant to Physical AI. This may include world models and model-based planning, reinforcement learning, training or post-training large models, robot learning and control, physical or differentiable simulation, or self-supervised learning from video and 3D data. Your expertise enables you to assess existing approaches critically, identify meaningful research questions and develop original scientific contributions.

You have a strong research track record, demonstrated through publications in leading scientific conferences or journals relevant to your field. Your research contributions should demonstrate scientific depth, originality and relevance. Publication records should be considered in the context of your field and individual contributions, rather than through publication counts alone.

You remain hands-on in your research. You are comfortable writing code, developing and testing approaches, conducting experiments and interpreting results. You can move between formulating a scientific problem and the practical work needed to investigate it, and you are willing to challenge existing assumptions when the evidence points towards new directions.

Beyond individual research projects, you can contribute to defining a broader scientific agenda. You are able to assess the state of the art, identify promising opportunities and help establish research priorities that balance near-term objectives with longer-term ambitions. Experience in developing research roadmaps or establishing a new research direction is particularly relevant.

You work effectively across disciplines and can collaborate with researchers from different scientific and technical backgrounds. You are comfortable engaging with external research teams, communicating your findings and contributing to a constructive research environment. Experience supervising or mentoring PhD students, interns or junior researchers is an advantage.

Additional strengths may include contributions to open-source libraries, datasets or benchmarks; participation in scientific workshops or research community activities; and collaborations with academic or industrial research institutions. Experience with egocentric video, human-to-robot transfer or teleoperation data may also be relevant.

You bring intellectual curiosity, scientific rigor and a collaborative mindset. You are comfortable working in an evolving research environment, investigating questions without predetermined answers and communicating complex scientific ideas clearly. You are motivated not only by the research itself, but also by the opportunity to help establish a laboratory's scientific identity and research culture.

Professional fluency in English is required. French is an advantage but is not essential.

Career perspective

This is an opportunity to join a research laboratory at its foundation and contribute directly to defining its scientific direction. You will have the scope to shape the research roadmap, investigate original questions in Physical AI, develop collaborations with leading research teams and contribute to the laboratory's scientific reputation.

You will work with large-scale real-world data, robotic data collection facilities and computing resources, within an environment designed to support hands-on research and scientific publication. The founding nature of the position offers the opportunity to influence the laboratory's research priorities, practices and external collaborations as the program develops.

The position is based in Toulouse, France. Relocation assistance can be offered to candidates moving to Toulouse, including help finding accommodation. Candidates available immediately or with a short notice period will be particularly appreciated.

If you are an experienced researcher looking to investigate fundamental questions in Physical AI and help shape the scientific direction of a new research laboratory, we invite you to apply to Adoc Talent Management with your CV.

Please also include two or three publications or research projects you are particularly proud of, links to your Google Scholar profile, GitHub account or research website if available.