About the role

Aplyr's Quick Take

This role is for a Principal Machine Learning Engineer focused on developing AI that enhances gameplay on Roblox. You'll work on advanced techniques like Imitation Learning and Reinforcement Learning to create intelligent game characters and improve automated playtesting. It's a senior, individual contributor position with some mentoring responsibilities.

Good fit

Ideal candidates have extensive experience in machine learning, particularly in game AI or robotics, and a strong background in software engineering. You should be comfortable balancing research with practical application and enjoy mentoring others.

Worth noting

The salary is quite high at $399,420, which may reflect the specialized skills required. The role involves significant responsibility in shaping the future of AI in gaming, which could be a unique opportunity for the right person.

Every day, tens of millions of people come to Roblox to explore, create, play, learn, and connect with friends in 3D immersive digital experiences– all created by our global community of developers and creators.

At Roblox, we’re building the tools and platform that empower our community to bring any experience that they can imagine to life. Our vision is to reimagine the way people come together, from anywhere in the world, and on any device. We’re on a mission to connect a billion people with optimism and civility, and looking for amazing talent to help us get there.

A career at Roblox means you’ll be working to shape the future of human interaction, solving unique technical challenges at scale, and helping to create safer, more civil shared experiences for everyone.

As a Principal Machine Learning Engineer within the Creator Services Machine Intelligence team, you will focus on the research and development of Embodied AI and Behavioral Agents that revolutionize how games are created and played on Roblox. You will bridge the gap between cutting-edge research and massive-scale product application, building agents capable of complex 3D gameplay and unblocking many use cases across Roblox, from automated playtesting to ensure quality, to "ML Players" with human-like movement and strategic reasoning, playing with real players in games.
You will work on feature extraction, model training, building validation / RL platform as well as inference set up leveraging methods from imitation learning to reinforcement learning. And you will create generalizable agents that can perceive 3D environments, understand game rules, plan long-term strategies, and execute complex physics-based actions in real-time.

You Will:

Design and implement foundation models end to end through the feature extraction to inference for embodied agents.
Define the long-term roadmap for Game AI and Embodied Intelligence, acting as a technical bar-raiser for code quality and architectural design.
Balance the exploration of cutting-edge deep learning research with the practical constraints of serving models to millions of concurrent users.
Mentor fellow engineers and researchers, fostering a culture of technical excellence and scientific inquiry.
Collaborate with Product Managers, Backend and Game Engine Engineers and other Roblox team members.

You Have:

PhD or Master’s in Computer Science, Applied Math, or other field. A record of top-tier publications (e.g., NeurIPS, ICML, CVPR, AAAI, SIGGRAPH, etc) in embodied agents or related domains is a plus.
7+ years of experience as a Machine Learning Engineer or Research Scientist, applying research to tangible products.
Deep technical understanding of Imitation Learning, Robotics, Reinforcement Learning, Computer Graphics and Vision, with experience working on low-latency motor control (human-like movement) and high-level strategic reasoning (game rules/goals).
Experience with building large scale data/feature pipeline, simulation environments for evaluation / RL.
Experience training models on large-scale distributed clusters and understanding the challenges of inference in real-time gaming environments.
Proficiency in Python (PyTorch/TensorFlow) and familiarity with C#, C++, or similar systems languages.
A passion for bridging the gap between research and production, moving beyond academic benchmarks to launch scalable solutions that directly impact millions of users.

For roles that are based at our headquarters in San Mateo, CA: The starting base pay for this position is as shown below. The actual base pay is dependent upon a variety of job-related factors such as professional background, training, work experience, location, business needs and market demand. Therefore, in some circumstances, the actual salary could fall outside of this expected range. This pay range is subject to change and may be modified in the future. All full-time employees are also eligible for equity compensation and for benefits as described on this page.

Annual Salary Range

$345,040—$399,420 USD

Roles that are based in an office are onsite Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, with optional presence on Monday and Friday (unless otherwise noted).

Roblox provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Roblox also provides reasonable accommodations to candidates with qualifying disabilities or religious beliefs during the recruiting process.

For US based roles only, please note the Company may not be able to employ candidates for this role who have United States work authorization related to certain U.S. visa categories, or support future H-1B sponsorship at this time.

Skills & Tags

python go aws machine learning ai backend data product

Aplyr's read

Roblox is a pioneering platform for user-generated gaming content, attracting creative minds and tech enthusiasts to innovate in the digital entertainment space.
Synthesized from recent postings & public sources

What's promising

•Roblox's user-generated content model empowers creators and fosters a vibrant community.
•The platform's continuous growth offers diverse career opportunities in tech and creative roles.
•Roblox invests heavily in cutting-edge technologies like AI and data analytics.

What to watch

•Roblox faces scrutiny over content moderation and user safety concerns.
•The platform's reliance on young users raises questions about data privacy and protection.
•High competition in the gaming industry could impact Roblox's market share.

Why Roblox

•Roblox's platform allows users to both create and monetize their own games.
•The company has a strong focus on community-driven development and collaboration.
•Roblox's ecosystem supports a wide range of roles from engineering to content moderation.

Aplyr’s read is generated by AI from public sources. Was it useful?

About Roblox

Roblox

roblox.com

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Roblox is an online platform that allows users to create and play games created by other users. It has revolutionized the gaming industry by providing a space for user-generated content, fostering creativity and collaboration among millions of players worldwide.