Applied Scientist Jobs in Massachusetts
Applied Scientist jobs in Massachusetts are among the most active in the country, concentrated in machine learning, natural language processing, and computational biology, with openings from entry-level research roles through principal and staff-level positions. The heaviest hiring is in Greater Boston, Cambridge, and the Route 128 corridor, where employers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Biogen maintain significant research and engineering teams. Demand is particularly strong in the life sciences AI and large language model specialties that define Massachusetts's technology and biotech ecosystem. Find a role that fits below and apply directly.
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Showing 5 of 25+ Applied Scientist jobs
DESCRIPTION
As a Senior Applied Scientist on the Amazon Robotics Sensing and Compute hardware team, you will be the ML and perception expert working alongside the Principal Applied Scientist and Principal Hardware Development Engineer to shape the future of deployed and scaled sensing hardware. You will influence sensor selection, compute architecture, optical design, and system level trade offs, ensuring the hardware we build is purpose designed for the algorithms that run on it. You will help define what the next generation of cameras, depth sensors, and edge compute modules need to be, and then prove it with data, experimentation, and production validation.
What makes this role unique:
- Embedded in the hardware development team, directly influencing what gets designed, manufactured, and shipped
- Partner with the Principal Engineers to co define the sensing and compute hardware roadmap for every major Amazon Robotics program
- Own the ML experimentation and validation that drives hardware architecture decisions for cameras, depth sensors, and edge compute
- Solve perception problems no other company is tackling: safety rated vision, multi modal sensor fusion, and real time inference on resource constrained hardware
- Ship to hundreds of fulfillment sites worldwide across autonomous mobile robots, manipulation workcells, barcode sensing, and safety rated human collaborative systems
- Your work does not sit in a research queue. It goes into production hardware that enables the future of Amazon Robotics
Key job responsibilities
- Partner with the Principal Hardware Development Engineer and Principal Applied Scientist to co define sensing and compute hardware requirements, ensuring ML and perception needs drive sensor selection, optical design, compute architecture, and system level trade offs
- Develop and optimize computer vision and deep learning models for robotic perception including object detection, depth estimation, scene understanding, and barcode recognition, purpose built for edge deployment on resource constrained hardware
- Lead ML experimentation and validation that directly informs hardware architecture decisions for cameras, depth sensors, and edge compute modules
- Design and execute benchmarking frameworks to evaluate sensing hardware performance across diverse robotic use cases, providing data driven recommendations on what to build next
- Optimize models for production edge deployment including quantization, pruning, distillation, and inference pipeline tuning to meet strict latency, power, and accuracy requirements
- Drive research and experimentation on next generation perception capabilities in collaboration with the Principal Applied Scientist, including multi modal sensor fusion, safety rated vision, and real time inference for autonomous and human collaborative robotics
- Collaborate cross functionally with hardware engineers, software developers, and robotics program teams to transition models from prototype through production validation and fleet deployment
- Contribute to the sensing and compute hardware roadmap alongside the Principal Applied Scientist, identifying where ML trends and emerging capabilities require new hardware architecture or sensor modalities
- Mentor engineers and scientists on ML best practices for embedded systems and production robotics
- Publish and present research to advance the state of the art in robotic perception
A day in the life
In this role you will work at the intersection of machine learning and physical robotics hardware. You will collaborate with hardware engineers to evaluate how your models perform on real sensors and edge compute, run experiments that directly influence what gets built next, and validate perception systems alongside robotics program teams. You will push the boundaries of computer vision for robotic applications while seeing your work deploy on real robots in real fulfillment centers. This is applied science with immediate, measurable impact at a scale no other robotics company can offer.
Amazon offers a full range of benefits that support you and eligible family members, including domestic partners. Benefits can vary by location, the number of regularly scheduled hours you work, length of employment, and job status such as seasonal or temporary employment. The benefits that generally apply to regular, full-time employees include:
1. Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
2. Maternity and Parental Leave Options
3. Paid Time Off (PTO)
4. 401(k) Plan
If you are not sure that every qualification on the list above describes you exactly, we'd still love to hear from you! At Amazon, we value people with unique backgrounds, experiences, and skillsets. If you’re passionate about this role and want to make an impact on a global scale, please apply!
About the team
The Amazon Robotics Sensing and Compute team powers a customer centric ecosystem built for speed, quality, and innovation. We stay ahead of sensing and compute technology, standardize reusable and cost effective modules, and pair them with deep engineering expertise and a robust supply chain. Every customer gets the right solution, whether off the shelf, rapidly customized, or purpose built, easy to integrate and ready to scale. We are a small, fast moving team of builders who own the full stack from optics through edge compute and take pride in shipping production hardware that enables every major robotics program in Amazon's global fulfillment network. If you want your work to matter on day one, this is the team.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD, or Master's degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience building complex software systems, especially involving deep learning, machine learning and computer vision, that have been successfully delivered to customers
- Experience with one or more deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or equivalent
- Experience with 2D and 3D vision tasks including object detection, segmentation, depth estimation, or point cloud processing
- Experience optimizing ML models for deployment on resource constrained hardware including quantization, pruning, or distillation techniques
- Experience in written and verbal communication with the ability to present complex technical information in a clear and concise manner to executives and non-technical leaders
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD, or PhD and 4+ years of deep learning, computer vision, human robotic interaction, algorithms implementation experience
- Experience with robotic perception systems in industrial, warehouse, or manufacturing environments
- -Familiarity with edge compute hardware and embedded inference pipelines
- -Experience with real time computer vision systems operating under strict latency and power constraints
- -Track record of transitioning research prototypes to production systems deployed at scale
- -Experience with safety critical ML applications or functional safety requirements
- -Experience collaborating with hardware engineering teams on sensor selection, optical design, or compute architecture trade offs
- -Experience with image signal processing pipelines and camera system characterization
- -Experience mentoring scientists or engineers in applied research environments
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
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. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, MA, North Reading - 167,100.00 - 226,100.00 USD annually
USA, MA, Westboro - 167,100.00 - 226,100.00 USD annually
DESCRIPTION
As a Senior Applied Scientist on the Amazon Robotics Sensing and Compute hardware team, you will be the ML and perception expert working alongside the Principal Applied Scientist and Principal Hardware Development Engineer to shape the future of deployed and scaled sensing hardware. You will influence sensor selection, compute architecture, optical design, and system level trade offs, ensuring the hardware we build is purpose designed for the algorithms that run on it. You will help define what the next generation of cameras, depth sensors, and edge compute modules need to be, and then prove it with data, experimentation, and production validation.
What makes this role unique:
- Embedded in the hardware development team, directly influencing what gets designed, manufactured, and shipped
- Partner with the Principal Engineers to co define the sensing and compute hardware roadmap for every major Amazon Robotics program
- Own the ML experimentation and validation that drives hardware architecture decisions for cameras, depth sensors, and edge compute
- Solve perception problems no other company is tackling: safety rated vision, multi modal sensor fusion, and real time inference on resource constrained hardware
- Ship to hundreds of fulfillment sites worldwide across autonomous mobile robots, manipulation workcells, barcode sensing, and safety rated human collaborative systems
- Your work does not sit in a research queue. It goes into production hardware that enables the future of Amazon Robotics
Key job responsibilities
- Partner with the Principal Hardware Development Engineer and Principal Applied Scientist to co define sensing and compute hardware requirements, ensuring ML and perception needs drive sensor selection, optical design, compute architecture, and system level trade offs
- Develop and optimize computer vision and deep learning models for robotic perception including object detection, depth estimation, scene understanding, and barcode recognition, purpose built for edge deployment on resource constrained hardware
- Lead ML experimentation and validation that directly informs hardware architecture decisions for cameras, depth sensors, and edge compute modules
- Design and execute benchmarking frameworks to evaluate sensing hardware performance across diverse robotic use cases, providing data driven recommendations on what to build next
- Optimize models for production edge deployment including quantization, pruning, distillation, and inference pipeline tuning to meet strict latency, power, and accuracy requirements
- Drive research and experimentation on next generation perception capabilities in collaboration with the Principal Applied Scientist, including multi modal sensor fusion, safety rated vision, and real time inference for autonomous and human collaborative robotics
- Collaborate cross functionally with hardware engineers, software developers, and robotics program teams to transition models from prototype through production validation and fleet deployment
- Contribute to the sensing and compute hardware roadmap alongside the Principal Applied Scientist, identifying where ML trends and emerging capabilities require new hardware architecture or sensor modalities
- Mentor engineers and scientists on ML best practices for embedded systems and production robotics
- Publish and present research to advance the state of the art in robotic perception
A day in the life
In this role you will work at the intersection of machine learning and physical robotics hardware. You will collaborate with hardware engineers to evaluate how your models perform on real sensors and edge compute, run experiments that directly influence what gets built next, and validate perception systems alongside robotics program teams. You will push the boundaries of computer vision for robotic applications while seeing your work deploy on real robots in real fulfillment centers. This is applied science with immediate, measurable impact at a scale no other robotics company can offer.
Amazon offers a full range of benefits that support you and eligible family members, including domestic partners. Benefits can vary by location, the number of regularly scheduled hours you work, length of employment, and job status such as seasonal or temporary employment. The benefits that generally apply to regular, full-time employees include:
1. Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
2. Maternity and Parental Leave Options
3. Paid Time Off (PTO)
4. 401(k) Plan
If you are not sure that every qualification on the list above describes you exactly, we'd still love to hear from you! At Amazon, we value people with unique backgrounds, experiences, and skillsets. If you’re passionate about this role and want to make an impact on a global scale, please apply!
About the team
The Amazon Robotics Sensing and Compute team powers a customer centric ecosystem built for speed, quality, and innovation. We stay ahead of sensing and compute technology, standardize reusable and cost effective modules, and pair them with deep engineering expertise and a robust supply chain. Every customer gets the right solution, whether off the shelf, rapidly customized, or purpose built, easy to integrate and ready to scale. We are a small, fast moving team of builders who own the full stack from optics through edge compute and take pride in shipping production hardware that enables every major robotics program in Amazon's global fulfillment network. If you want your work to matter on day one, this is the team.
BASIC QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD, or Master's degree and 6+ years of applied research experience
- Experience programming in Java, C++, Python or related language
- Experience building complex software systems, especially involving deep learning, machine learning and computer vision, that have been successfully delivered to customers
- Experience with one or more deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch, TensorFlow, or equivalent
- Experience with 2D and 3D vision tasks including object detection, segmentation, depth estimation, or point cloud processing
- Experience optimizing ML models for deployment on resource constrained hardware including quantization, pruning, or distillation techniques
- Experience in written and verbal communication with the ability to present complex technical information in a clear and concise manner to executives and non-technical leaders
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- PhD, or PhD and 4+ years of deep learning, computer vision, human robotic interaction, algorithms implementation experience
- Experience with robotic perception systems in industrial, warehouse, or manufacturing environments
- -Familiarity with edge compute hardware and embedded inference pipelines
- -Experience with real time computer vision systems operating under strict latency and power constraints
- -Track record of transitioning research prototypes to production systems deployed at scale
- -Experience with safety critical ML applications or functional safety requirements
- -Experience collaborating with hardware engineering teams on sensor selection, optical design, or compute architecture trade offs
- -Experience with image signal processing pipelines and camera system characterization
- -Experience mentoring scientists or engineers in applied research environments
Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.
Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.
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. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.
USA, MA, North Reading - 167,100.00 - 226,100.00 USD annually
USA, MA, Westboro - 167,100.00 - 226,100.00 USD annually
See All 25 Applied Scientist Jobs in Massachusetts
Find roles in Massachusetts that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Applied Scientist JobsApplied Scientist Jobs by City in Massachusetts
Where Massachusetts roles are concentrated, by current openings.
Applied Scientist Job Market in Massachusetts
A snapshot from current Massachusetts openings, updated as new roles post.
Who's Hiring
- Amazon16
- Whoop2
- XPO1
- Tempus1
- Symbotic1
Top Industries Hiring
- Retail
- Technology & Software
- E-Commerce & Online Marketplaces
- Distribution & Wholesale
What Massachusetts Employers Look For
The qualifications that appear most often in applied scientist jobs across Massachusetts.
- Master's or PhD in computer science, statistics, or a related quantitative field required
- Demonstrated experience building and deploying machine learning models in production environments
- Proficiency in Python and frameworks such as TensorFlow, PyTorch, or scikit-learn
- Experience with large-scale data pipelines, cloud platforms such as AWS or Azure, and distributed computing
- Strong publication record or portfolio of applied research projects tied to measurable business or scientific outcomes
- Ability to collaborate cross-functionally with product, engineering, and domain science teams on iterative research cycles
Applied Scientist Jobs in Massachusetts: Frequently Asked Questions
How do you become a applied scientist in Massachusetts?
Applied scientist roles in Massachusetts require no state-issued license, but employers consistently expect a graduate degree, typically a master's or PhD, in computer science, statistics, applied mathematics, or a closely related field. Most candidates build their path through research assistantships or internships at Massachusetts universities like MIT, Harvard, or UMass Amherst, then move into industry roles in Boston's life sciences or technology sectors.
How much do applied scientists make in Massachusetts?
Applied scientists in Massachusetts earn a median of about $131,750 a year, based on May 2025 Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data, ranging from around $81,030 for the lowest 10% to over $206,220 for the top 10%. Pay rises with experience, specialty, and employer.
Which companies hire applied scientists in Massachusetts?
Employers hiring applied scientists in Massachusetts right now include Amazon, Whoop, and XPO, based on current listings on Migrate Mate as of November 2026. Massachusetts's concentration of biotech companies along the Route 128 corridor and large cloud-computing campuses in the Greater Boston area means applied scientist demand is distributed across both life sciences and enterprise technology sectors.
Which Massachusetts cities have the most applied scientist jobs?
Boston, North Reading, and Reading account for the largest share of applied scientist openings in Massachusetts. Greater Boston and Cambridge drive the majority of postings because of the dense cluster of technology companies, pharmaceutical research hubs, and university-affiliated research centers there, while suburban Route 128 cities attract volume from the large enterprise and defense-technology employers based in that corridor.
Are there remote applied scientist jobs in Massachusetts?
Yes, and more than most fields. About 33% of applied scientist openings tied to Massachusetts are remote or hybrid as of November 2026, reflecting that much of the core work, model development, experimentation, and analysis, is conducted on cloud infrastructure and does not require daily on-site presence. Roles that involve wet-lab integration or embedded hardware systems are more likely to require in-person attendance.
How can I get hired as a applied scientist in Massachusetts with little or no experience?
The most realistic entry path is a research internship or co-op during a graduate program at a Massachusetts institution, converting into a full-time role at the same employer. Large Massachusetts employers like Amazon's Boston offices and biotech companies in Kendall Square run new-grad and associate applied scientist programs that accept candidates with strong thesis projects or Kaggle-style portfolios in lieu of industry experience. Adjacent roles such as data analyst, ML engineer, or research engineer provide a lateral route in.
Where can I find and apply to applied scientist jobs in Massachusetts?
You can find and apply to applied scientist jobs in Massachusetts on Migrate Mate, which lists current Massachusetts openings across the Boston metro, Cambridge, and the Route 128 corridor. Find roles that fit your specialization and experience level and apply directly from the listings.
See All 25 Applied Scientist Jobs in Massachusetts
Find roles in Massachusetts that match your experience and apply in just a few clicks.
Find Applied Scientist Jobs