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Amazon Science Community and Machine Learning University call for proposals - Spring 2022

Making Amazon the best place in the world to do customer-obsessed science and engineering

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About this CFP

The Amazon Science Community and Machine Learning University teams are committed to making Amazon the best place in the world to do customer-obsessed science and engineering. Our programs, including onboarding bootcamps, mentorship programs, and instructor-led classes, help Amazon’s scientists and engineers do their best work. We aim to advance the state of the art in the design and execution of these programs. We are seeking to fund economics and social science research on the following topics:

  • Scientific productivity metrics – high quality science can take years to develop and have a customer impact; how can we know in the meantime if a research team is flourishing or floundering?
  • Scientific impact metrics – scientific work not only operates on long timelines, it has a cumulative effect.  One research paper may not get turned into a product or service, but it can serve as critical inspiration for the next research paper that does.  How can we assess the impact of a given research project, team, or individual, beyond basic tools like citation and patent metrics?
  • Team-based research success factors – impactful science is increasingly done by teams; research teams to create the science, and engineering teams to implement scientific solutions on behalf of customers.  What are the most critical factors that cause a team to have scientific success, and what mechanisms can influence them?
  • Individual-based research success factors – what are the key factors to individual scientific success, and which of these are a product of the institutional environment?  How can we optimize the physical and social environment to allow scientists to do their best work?
  • Educational design – what drives success in technical courses when presented in-person, live remote, or self-paced?  What drives students to choose one option or the other, and how can we leverage hybrid formats to bring together the strengths of each of these?  What are the data-driven best practices for online education, particularly with regards to recent shifts in working practices?  How do we measure practical success when teaching scientific knowledge at scale?

Timeline

Submission period: June 3 - July 8, 2022

Decision letters will be sent out December 2022

Award details

Selected Principal Investigators (PIs) may receive the following:

  • Unrestricted funds, no more than $80,000 USD
  • AWS Promotional Credits, no more than $20,000 USD
  • Training resources, including AWS tutorials and hands-on sessions with Amazon scientists and engineers

Awards are structured as one-year unrestricted gifts. The budget should include a list of expected costs specified in USD, and should not include administrative overhead costs. The final award amount will be determined by the awards panel.

Eligibility requirements

Please refer to the ARA Program rules on the FAQ page.

Proposal requirements

Proposals should be prepared according to the proposal template.

PIs should either include plans for open source contributions or state that they do not plan to make any open source contributions (data or code) under the proposed effort.

Selection criteria

ARA will make the funding decisions based on the potential impact to the research community and quality of the scientific content.

Expectations from recipients

To the extent deemed reasonable, Award recipients should acknowledge the support from ARA. Award recipients will inform ARA of publications, presentations, code and data releases, blogs/social media posts, and other speaking engagements referencing the results of the supported research or the Award. Award recipients are expected to provide updates and feedback to ARA via surveys or reports on the status of their research. Award recipients will have an opportunity to work with ARA on an informational statement about the awarded project that may be used to generate visibility for their institutions and ARA.

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US, WA, Seattle
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Economist II
US, WA, Seattle
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Member of Technical Staff - Robotics Electrical Engineer, Frontier AI & Robotics
US, CA, San Francisco
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Technical Lab Manager - Robotics R&D, Frontier AI & Robotics
US, CA, San Francisco
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Member of Technical Staff - Electronics Engineer, Actuators & Drives, Frontier AI & Robotics
US, CA, San Francisco
Join Amazon's Frontier AI & Robotics team and take ownership of the electronics that make our robots move. As a Member of Technical Staff - Electronics Engineer, Actuators & Drives, you will conceptualize, design, and test the motor drive electronics that power our in-house robotic actuators—from the gate drivers and power stages that command motor current to the sensing circuits and communication interfaces that give our robots proprioceptive awareness. Your printed circuit board (PCB) designs will live inside each of our next-generation robotic systems, directly enabling the embodied intelligence that is central to FAR's mission. Key job responsibilities • Conceptualize, design, and validate motor drive electronics for in-house robotic actuators, including inverter power stages, gate driver circuits, current and position sensing, and power management subsystems from concept through prototype and production • Lead PCB-level design of compact, high-power-density motor drive boards, including schematic capture, component selection, and collaboration with PCB layout engineers to achieve signal integrity, thermal, and EMC requirements in constrained actuator form factors • Characterize and optimize inverter switching performance, efficiency, and thermal behavior across the full operating envelope of FAR's actuator variants, using bench measurements and simulation to guide design decisions • Define and implement current sensing architectures (shunt-based, Hall-effect, or integrated IC-based) and position/velocity sensing interfaces (encoder, resolver, Hall sensor) to support high-bandwidth FOC firmware on microcontrollers and DSPs • Partner with firmware engineers to define hardware-software interfaces for motor drive control loops, fault detection logic, and communication protocols (CAN, EtherCAT, SPI), ensuring electronics designs support the real-time control requirements of robotic actuation • Collaborate with motor design and mechanical engineers to specify the electrical characteristics of custom BLDC and PMSM motors, align inverter design to motor parameters, and validate the integrated actuator electro-mechanical system • Lead hardware bring-up, functional testing, and failure analysis for new actuator electronics prototypes, developing test plans and characterization setups that systematically validate design performance and identify failure modes • Define electronics design standards, review processes, and design-for-manufacturability (DFM) guidelines for FAR's actuator drive portfolio, and mentor junior engineers in motor drive electronics design best practices A day in the life Your day centers on the full electronics development cycle for our custom actuator drive systems. You might start by reviewing simulation results for a new inverter topology, then transition to the lab to characterize switching losses and thermal performance on a prototype motor drive board. Later in the day, you could be collaborating with motor design engineers on back-EMF waveform analysis, refining gate drive timing to optimize inverter efficiency, or working with firmware engineers to define current sensing interfaces and hardware abstraction layers. Across the week, you'll be involved in schematic capture and PCB layout reviews with your design team, participating in design review gates, and iterating on hardware based on test findings. You'll navigate the challenge of fitting high-performance drive electronics into compact, thermally constrained actuator packages—designing for the power density, reliability, and robustness our robots demand. Your work will span from concept and architecture through silicon bring-up, and you'll play a key role in defining the electronics roadmap for FAR's actuator portfolio. About the team Frontier AI & Robotics (FAR) is the team at Amazon building the next generation of embodied intelligence. FAR drives the development and implementation of advanced AI models within Amazon’s operations that enable robots to see, reason, and act on the world around them, supporting a number of different warehouse automation tasks.
Member of Technical Staff - Firmware Engineer, Robotics, Frontier AI & Robotics
US, CA, San Francisco
Join Amazon's Frontier AI & Robotics team and help shape the future of intelligent robotic systems from the inside out. As a Member of Technical Staff - Firmware Engineer, Electronics, you will develop the low-level firmware that brings our in-house robotic actuators to life—writing the embedded code that bridges sophisticated hardware and the high-level AI control systems that power our next-generation robots. Your work will directly enable our robots to see, reason, and act in real-world warehouse environments, making you a critical contributor to one of the most ambitious robotics programs in the world. Key job responsibilities • Develop, test, and optimize embedded firmware for custom in-house robotic actuators, including motor control algorithms (FOC, commutation, current/torque/speed/position loops) running on microcontrollers and DSPs • Design and implement real-time firmware for actuator state estimation, fault detection, and protection logic, ensuring robust and safe operation across all actuator variants deployed in FAR's robotic systems • Collaborate with electronics engineers and motor design engineers to define firmware requirements, hardware interfaces (SPI, I2C, CAN, EtherCAT, RS-485), and actuator bring-up procedures for new hardware revisions • Develop and maintain firmware for field-oriented control (FOC) and sensored/sensorless motor commutation, including tuning current regulators, velocity controllers, and position controllers for high-performance robots • Build and maintain firmware test frameworks and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test environments to validate firmware behavior across actuator operating conditions, edge cases, and failure modes • Partner with controls engineers and AI researchers to ensure firmware-level interfaces support high-bandwidth, low-latency communication required by whole-body control and motion planning algorithms • Contribute to actuator firmware architecture decisions, define software-hardware interface standards, and maintain firmware documentation and version control practices to enable scalable multi-actuator development • Support rapid hardware bring-up and debugging of new actuator prototypes, leveraging oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and custom diagnostic tools to characterize and validate firmware behavior on novel hardware A day in the life Your day is rooted in the intersection of hardware and software where you’ll be wiring firmware from scratch to control custom motors. You might start your morning reviewing firmware behavior logs from the previous night's actuator characterization runs, then spend time working alongside motor design and electronics engineers to debug a torque ripple issue in the motor control loop. In the afternoon, you could be writing and validating embedded firmware for a new actuator variant, tuning (field-oriented control) FOC algorithms, and collaborating with the controls team to ensure firmware interfaces align with high-level motion planning requirements. Beyond the bench, you'll participate in architecture reviews with hardware and software engineers, contribute to code reviews, and document firmware specifications that enable smooth hardware handoffs. You'll be working on actuator variants—each with unique power, torque, and speed requirements—and you'll be the firmware voice in cross-functional design discussions that shape how our actuators are built and controlled. The pace is fast, the problems are novel, and the impact is direct. About the team Frontier AI & Robotics (FAR) is the team at Amazon building the next generation of embodied intelligence. FAR drives the development and implementation of advanced AI models within Amazon’s operations that enable robots to see, reason, and act on the world around them, supporting a number of different warehouse automation tasks.
Lab Engineer, Frontier AI & Robotics
US, CA, San Francisco
Join our Frontier AI & Robotics team to support the hardware integration of next-generation robotic systems that will transform how robots perceive and interact with the world. You'll take ownership of hands-on hardware assembly, software integration, and system validation tasks across advanced actuators, precision sensors, and robotic subsystems — ensuring they work seamlessly together to support breakthrough AI research and real-world deployment. Key job responsibilities - Assembly, Integration & DFx — Assemble and integrate robotic hardware (actuators, sensors, vision systems, machined components). Execute assembly processes and test protocols developed with engineering. Provide DFM/DFA feedback and perform simple mechanical/electrical/software design tasks; support integration/debug and partner with engineers to optimize manufacturability and testability. - R&D Prototype Test & Validation — Validate hardware revisions, verify mechanical assemblies, power sequencing, communication interfaces, and peripherals during bring-up. - Debugging & Failure Analysis — Troubleshoot and root-cause issues across the robotic platform (power, compute, comms, actuators, sensors). Conduct failure analysis from component to system level. Reproduce critical failures, interpret schematics, and bridge communication between the lab and engineering teams. - Technical Documentation — Author and maintain runbooks, failure analysis reports, assembly guides, and troubleshooting guides; uphold consistent documentation standards across the lab. - Mechanical Design Support — Perform simple R&D design tasks and test fixture design in CAD, ensuring quality and alignment with engineering priorities. - Lab Operations Support — Support machine shop capabilities, equipment maintenance, inventory management, vendor coordination, and safety/regulatory compliance. - Test Capability Development — Develop test methodologies, design jigs/fixtures, support hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing, and streamline failure-to-resolution workflows. A day in the life Your focus centers on the hardware and software that powers our advanced robotic platforms. You'll execute high degree-of-freedom (DoF) robotic prototype assembly and validation, working alongside engineers and fellow technicians. Your responsibilities include building, debugging, validating prototype, performing critical component and assembly quality assessments, providing DFM/DFA feedback to engineers, and designing test jigs and fixtures. Throughout the day, you balance complex assemblies and integration testing while handling urgent prototyping requests, documentation updates, and preparation for upcoming milestones. You're switching between working at the bench, collaborating in design reviews with engineers, and ensuring lab safety and equipment maintenance. About the team At Frontier AI & Robotics, we're not just advancing robotics – we're reimagining it from the ground up. Our team is building the future of intelligent robotics through frontier foundation models and end-to-end learned systems. We tackle some of the most challenging problems in AI and robotics, from developing sophisticated perception systems to creating adaptive manipulation strategies that work in complex, real-world scenarios. What sets us apart is our unique combination of ambitious research vision and practical impact. We leverage Amazon's computational infrastructure and rich real-world datasets to train and deploy state-of-the-art foundation models. Our work spans the full spectrum of robotics intelligence – from multimodal perception using images, videos, and sensor data, to sophisticated manipulation strategies that can handle diverse real-world scenarios. We're building systems that don't just work in the lab, but scale to meet the demands of Amazon's global operations. Join us if you're excited about pushing the boundaries of what's possible in robotics, working with world-class researchers, and seeing your innovations deployed at unprecedented scale.
Member of Technical Staff - Technical Program Manager, Frontier AI & Robotics
US, CA, San Francisco
Join Amazon's Frontier AI & Robotics team as a Member of Technical Staff, this Technical Program Manager will become the driving force behind breakthrough robotics innovation. You'll orchestrate complex, cross-functional programs that bridge AI research, software, hardware, and production deployment—managing the technical workstreams that enable robots to see, reason, and act in Amazon's warehouse environments. Your program leadership will directly accelerate our mission to build the next generation of embodied intelligence. Key job responsibilities · Establish and drive program management mechanisms and cadence for complex robotics and AI development initiatives spanning research, software engineering, hardware, and operations · Manage end-to-end program execution across the full robotics stack—including AI models, software engineering, and hardware deployment · Drive decision-making velocity by facilitating tradeoff discussions when there are conflicting priorities; determine whether decisions are one-way or two-way doors · Own program-level risk management, proactively identifying technical, schedule, and resource risks; escalate where necessary and drive mitigation strategies · Manage dependencies and scope changes across internal teams and partner organizations, ensuring alignment on commitments, timelines, and technical requirements · Create transparency through clear RACI frameworks, program dashboards, and communication mechanisms that keep stakeholders aligned on status, risks, and decisions · Exercise strong technical judgment to influence program-level decisions on deployment methodology, scalability requirements, and technical feasibility—acting as the voice back to research and engineering teams · Build sustainable program management processes that scale as our organization grows, adapting agile frameworks to the unique challenges of AI robotics A day in the life Your focus centers on driving velocity and alignment across our robotics programs. You might start your morning facilitating tradeoff decisions between AI researchers and software engineers on a critical prototype milestone, then transition to managing dependencies across hardware and operations teams to keep timelines on track. In the afternoon, you could be conducting risk assessments on supply chain constraints that impact our development roadmap, updating program dashboards to provide leadership visibility, or working with partner teams to align on deployment strategies. You'll establish the mechanisms and cadence that keep our fast-moving organization synchronized—from sprint planning rituals to cross-functional design reviews. Throughout the day, you balance hands-on program execution with strategic escalation, ensuring technical decisions align with our long-term vision while removing obstacles that slow teams down. You're the connective tissue that enables researchers, engineers, and operations specialists to move fast together. About the team At Frontier AI & Robotics, we're not just advancing robotics – we're reimagining it from the ground up. Our team is building the future of intelligent robotics through frontier foundation models and end-to-end learned systems. We tackle some of the most challenging problems in AI and robotics, from developing sophisticated perception systems to creating adaptive manipulation strategies that work in complex, real-world scenarios. What sets us apart is our unique combination of ambitious research vision and practical impact. We leverage Amazon's computational infrastructure and rich real-world datasets to train and deploy state-of-the-art foundation models. Our work spans the full spectrum of robotics intelligence – from multimodal perception using images, videos, and sensor data, to sophisticated manipulation strategies that can handle diverse real-world scenarios. We're building systems that don't just work in the lab, but scale to meet the demands of Amazon's global operations. Join us if you're excited about pushing the boundaries of what's possible in robotics, working with world-class researchers, and seeing your innovations deployed at unprecedented scale.
Member of Technical Staff - Robotics Mechanical Engineer, Frontier AI & Robotics
US, CA, San Francisco
About the Role: We are looking for a Member of Technical Staff - Mechanical Engineer with a passion for building complex robotic systems from the ground up. This role is ideal for someone with a deep understanding of structural and electromechanical design, who thrives in hands-on environments and has experience taking high-performance robots from concept to production. You will work on the mechanical and system architecture of advanced robotics platforms, including high degree-of-freedom systems, where considerations such as actuator selection, thermal constraints, cabling, sensing integration, and manufacturability are critical. This is a cross-disciplinary role requiring close collaboration with electrical, software, and AI research teams. Beyond day-to-day hardware development, this role also provides exciting avenues to contribute to innovative research projects. Whether you’re interested in mechatronics, sensor integration, or novel actuation methods, you’ll find opportunities to explore your research interests while building real-world systems that advance in the field of high degree-of-freedom robotics. What You Bring: * A systems-thinking mindset with a strong grasp of cross-domain engineering tradeoffs. * A bias toward action: comfortable building, testing, and iterating rapidly. * A collaborative and communicative working style — especially in multi-disciplinary research environments. * A passion for robotics and advancing the state of the art in intelligent, capable machines. Key job responsibilities * Lead mechanical design of robotic subsystems and full platforms, including structures, joints, enclosures, and mechanisms for a research environment. * Own kinematic, dynamic, and structural analyses to guide the design and optimization of full systems and subsystems of high-DoF robots * Specify and integrate actuators and motors for high-torque density applications in high-degree-of-freedom systems. * Contribute to thermal management strategies for motors, sensors, and embedded compute hardware. * Integrate sensors such as lidar, stereo cameras, IMUs, tactile sensors, and compute modules into compact, functional assemblies. * Design and route cabling and wire harnesses, ensuring reliability, serviceability, and thermal/electrical integrity. * Prototype and test mechanical systems; support hands-on builds, debug sessions, and field testing. * Conduct root cause analysis on system-level failures or performance issues and implement design improvements. * Apply Design for Manufacturing (DFM) and Design for Assembly (DFA) principles to transition prototypes into scalable builds (10s–100s of units). * Collaborate with cross-functional teams in electrical engineering, controls, perception, and research to meet research and product goals. About the team Frontier AI & Robotics (FAR) is the team at Amazon building the next generation of embodied intelligence. FAR drives the development and implementation of advanced AI models within Amazon’s operations that enable robots to see, reason, and act on the world around them, supporting a number of different warehouse automation tasks.
Applied Scientist III, Whole Body Control
US, MA, N.reading
Amazon is seeking exceptional talent to help develop the next generation of advanced robotics systems that will transform automation at Amazon's scale. We're building revolutionary robotic systems that combine cutting-edge AI, sophisticated control systems, and advanced mechanical design to create adaptable automation solutions capable of working safely alongside humans in dynamic environments. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of robotics and automation at an unprecedented scale, working with world-class teams pushing the boundaries of what's possible in robotic dexterous manipulation, locomotion, and human-robot interaction. This role presents an opportunity to shape the future of robotics through innovative applications of deep learning and large language models. At Amazon we leverage advanced robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to solve complex operational challenges at an unprecedented scale. Our fleet of robots operates across hundreds of facilities worldwide, working in sophisticated coordination to fulfill our mission of customer excellence. The ideal candidate will contribute to research that bridges the gap between theoretical advancement and practical implementation in robotics. You will be part of a team that's revolutionizing how robots learn, adapt, and interact with their environment. Join us in building the next generation of intelligent robotics systems that will transform the future of automation and human-robot collaboration. Key job responsibilities - Design and implement whole body control methods for balance, locomotion, and dexterous manipulation - Utilize state-of-the-art in methods in learned and model-based control - Create robust and safe behaviors for different terrains and tasks - Implement real-time controllers with stability guarantees - Collaborate effectively with multi-disciplinary teams to co-design hardware and algorithms for loco-manipulation - Mentor junior engineer and scientists
Manager, Applied Science, International Seller Services
US, WA, Seattle
Are you interested in leading growth initiatives for one of Amazon’s most significant and fastest growing businesses? Selling Partners offer hundreds of millions of unique products and are a critical to delivering on our vision of offering the Earth’s largest selection and lowest prices. The Amazon Marketplace enables over 2 million third-party selling partners in eleven marketplaces to list their products for sale to Amazon customers across the world. Within our WW Marketplace business, International Seller Services (ISS) oversees the recruiting and development of Selling Partners for all of our international marketplaces (e.g. UK, Germany, Japan, Middle East etc.). ISS also enables global selling, helping Sellers in one country expand and sell internationally. Are you fascinated by the power of Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Large Language Models (LLM) to transform the way we interact with technology? Are you passionate about applying advanced machine learning techniques to solve complex challenges in the e-commerce space? If so, the Central Science Team of Amazon's International Seller Services has an exciting opportunity for you as an Applied Science Manager. We are seeking an experienced science leader who is adept at a variety of skills; especially in generative AI, computer vision, and large language models that will help international sellers succeed as they sell on Amazon. The right candidate will provide science leadership, establish the right direction and vision, build team mechanisms, foster the spirit of collaboration and innovation within the org, and execute against a roadmap. This leader will provide both technical direction as well as manage a sizable team of scientists. They will need to be adept at recruiting, launching AI models into production, writing vision/direction documents, and building team mechanisms that will foster innovation and execution. Additionally, while the position is based in Seattle, this leader will interact with global leaders and teams in Europe, Japan, China, Australia, and other regions. Key job responsibilities Key job responsibilities Responsibilities include: * Drive end-to-end applied science projects that have a high degree of ambiguity, scale, complexity. * Provide technical / science leadership related to NLP, computer vision and large language models. * Research new and innovative machine learning approaches. * Recruit high performing Applied Scientists to the team and provide mentorship. * Establish team mechanisms, including team building, planning, and document reviews. * Communicate complex technical concepts effectively to both technical and non-technical stakeholders, providing clear explanations and guidance on proposed solutions and their potential impact.
Senior Economist
US, WA, Seattle
Amazon.com strives to be Earth's most customer-centric company where customers can shop in our stores to find and discover anything they want to buy. We hire the world's brightest minds, offering them a fast paced, technologically sophisticated and friendly work environment. Economists in the Forecasting, Macroeconomics & Finance field document, interpret and forecast Amazon business dynamics. This track is well suited for economists adept at combining times-series statistical methods with strong economic analysis and intuition. This track could be a good fit for candidates with research experience in: macroeconometrics and/or empirical macroeconomics; international macroeconomics; time-series econometrics; forecasting; financial econometrics and/or empirical finance; and the use of micro and panel data to improve and validate traditional aggregate models. Economists at Amazon are expected to work directly with our senior management and scientists from other fields on key business problems faced across Amazon, including retail, cloud computing, third party merchants, search, Kindle, streaming video, and operations. The Forecasting, Macroeconomics & Finance field utilizes methods at the frontier of economics to develop formal models to understand the past and the present, predict the future, and identify relevant risks and opportunities. For example, we analyze the internal and external drivers of growth and profitability and how these drivers interact with the customer experience in the short, medium and long-term. We build econometric models of dynamic systems, using our world class data tools, formalizing problems using rigorous science to solve business issues and further delight customers.
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