Advanced Analytics Research Scientist - VLA

Rockwell Automation is a global technology leader focused on helping the world’s manufacturers be more productive, sustainable, and agile. With more than 28,000 employees who make the world better every day, we know we have something special. Behind our customers - amazing companies that help feed the world, provide life-saving medicine on a global scale, and focus on clean water and green mobility - our people are energized problem solvers that take pride in how the work we do changes the world for the better.

We welcome all makers, forward thinkers, and problem solvers who are looking for a place to do their best work. And if that’s you we would love to have you join us!

Job Description

The AI Center of Excellence (COE) at Rockwell Automation is looking for an AI Scientist. This scientist will specialize in Vision–Language–Action (VLA) systems. The goal is to help develop the next generation of multimodal AI solutions for industrial environments. You will focus on translating recent advances in multimodal foundation models, embodied AI, and agentic systems into deployable technologies for real-world industrial applications.

You will work with a diverse team of AI researchers, control engineers, and software developers to design systems that integrate perception, reasoning, and action for complex operational settings.

This position offers the opportunity to apply state-of-the-art research in multimodal AI to large-scale industrial systems spanning manufacturing, robotics, and automation.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of vision–language–action architectures for industrial applications
• Design and implement multimodal learning systems that integrate perception, language understanding, and decision making.
• Adapt and fine-tune multimodal foundation models for domain-specific industrial tasks.
• Develop Agentic AI frameworks that connect perception models with tools, control systems, or operational workflows.
• Evaluate system robustness, safety, and reliability in real-world environments
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to translate research prototypes into deployable solutions
• Contribute to the organization's technical leadership through publications, internal research reports, and technical mentoring

• Bachelor's Degree in Relevant Field

• Typically requires 8+ years relevant experience
• M.Sc or Ph.D in Computer Science, Robotics, Machine Learning, or a related field
• Familiarity with agent-based systems, tool-use frameworks, or LLM-based planners
• Expertise in deep learning and multimodal machine learning
• Hands-on experience with vision-language models, multimodal transformers, or embodied AI systems
• Proficiency in Python and modern ML frameworks (e.g., PyTorch)
• Experience designing and training large-scale transformer architectures
• Analytical thinking and the ability to translate research ideas into working systems

What We Offer

• Health Insurance including Medical, Dental and Vision
• 401k
• Paid Time off
• Parental and Caregiver Leave
• Flexible Work Schedule where you will work with your manager to enjoy a work schedule that can be flexible with your personal life.
• To learn more about our benefits package, please visit at www.raquickfind.com.

This position is part of a job family. Experience will be the determining factor for position level and compensation

At Rockwell Automation we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace, so if you're excited about this role but your experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right person for this or other roles.

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We are an Equal Opportunity Employer including disability and veterans. 

If you are an individual with a disability and you need assistance or a reasonable accommodation during the application process, please contact our services team at +1 (844) 404-7247.

Rockwell Automation’s hybrid policy aligns that employees are expected to work at a Rockwell location at least Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays unless they have a business obligation out of the office.