AI Research Engineer Jobs in USA with Visa Sponsorship
AI Research Engineer roles attract strong H-1B visa sponsorship from U.S. tech employers, and many positions also qualify under the O-1A visa for researchers with publications or patents. Demand across cloud, semiconductor, and defense AI labs has kept sponsorship rates consistently high for this specialty. For detailed occupation requirements, see the O*NET profile.
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Get Access To All JobsINTRODUCTION
Agility's commercially deployed humanoids operate alongside teams in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers—tackling physically demanding and repetitive tasks while enabling workers to focus on higher-value work. With industry-leading safety standards and years of proven deployment data, we're pioneering a new era of automation that enhances human potential.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The AI innovation team at Agility works on building and deploying next-generation robot foundation models and end-to-end policies on humanoid robots. Your goal will be to develop and test cutting-edge methods for imitation learning and reinforcement learning on humanoid robots, in order to establish the techniques necessary for humanoid robots to perform different real-world tasks. You will work on a team, running experiments on humanoid robots, and will research and implement methods which can be transferred into production.
ABOUT THE WORK
- Design, train, and deploy robust policies for locomotion, manipulation, and dynamic interactions with the environment.
- Develop core reinforcement learning infrastructure, including scalable training pipelines and evaluation frameworks.
- Design and implement new simulation environments and tasks to support training and deployment of control policies.
- Develop, design, and test imitation learning methods.
- Collaborate with Robotics Software and AI engineering teams to develop policies which can be transferred to production.
ABOUT YOU
- 3+ years of experience developing and deploying learning-from-demonstration.
- Strong programming skills in Python, with proficiency in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
- Experience with modern learning-from-demonstration tools like DiffusionPolicy.
- Experience with robot data collection, training, and testing on hardware to perform manipulation tasks.
- Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment to deliver safe, high-quality software.
- MS in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
BONUS POINTS
- PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
- Publications in top ML or robotics conferences (e.g. NeurIPS, ICML, CoRL, RSS, ICRA).
- Familiarity with robot simulation environments (e.g. Mujoco, Isaac Sim) and sim-to-real transfer techniques.
- Experience with modern reinforcement learning techniques for locomotion, manipulation, and whole-body control.
- Experience with writing performant, high quality software in C++.
This a hybrid position based out of one of our Salem, Pittsburgh, or Fremont offices.
The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to: market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This range may change based on geographical location and may be modified in the future.
In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of the following for full-time employees:
- 401(k) Plan: Includes a 6% company match.
- Equity: Company stock options.
- Insurance Coverage: 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long-term disability insurance for employees.
- Benefit Start Date: Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
- Well-Being Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Time Off:
- Exempt Employees: Flexible, unlimited PTO and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
- Non-Exempt Employees: 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.
- On-Site Perks: Catered lunches four times a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
- Parental Leave: Generous paid parental leave programs.
- Work Environment: A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
- Growth Opportunities: Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.
- Relocation Assistance: Provided for eligible roles.
- Annual Discretionary Bonus: Provided for eligible roles.
All of our roles are U.S.-based. Applicants must have current authorization to work in the United States.
Agility Robotics is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, it is the policy of Agility Robotics to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Agility Robotics prohibits any such discrimination or harassment.
Agility Robotics does not accept unsolicited referrals from third-party recruiting agencies. We prioritize direct applicants and encourage all qualified candidates to apply directly through our careers page. If you are represented by a third party, your application may not be considered. To ensure full consideration, please apply directly.
INTRODUCTION
Agility's commercially deployed humanoids operate alongside teams in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers—tackling physically demanding and repetitive tasks while enabling workers to focus on higher-value work. With industry-leading safety standards and years of proven deployment data, we're pioneering a new era of automation that enhances human potential.
ABOUT THE ROLE
The AI innovation team at Agility works on building and deploying next-generation robot foundation models and end-to-end policies on humanoid robots. Your goal will be to develop and test cutting-edge methods for imitation learning and reinforcement learning on humanoid robots, in order to establish the techniques necessary for humanoid robots to perform different real-world tasks. You will work on a team, running experiments on humanoid robots, and will research and implement methods which can be transferred into production.
ABOUT THE WORK
- Design, train, and deploy robust policies for locomotion, manipulation, and dynamic interactions with the environment.
- Develop core reinforcement learning infrastructure, including scalable training pipelines and evaluation frameworks.
- Design and implement new simulation environments and tasks to support training and deployment of control policies.
- Develop, design, and test imitation learning methods.
- Collaborate with Robotics Software and AI engineering teams to develop policies which can be transferred to production.
ABOUT YOU
- 3+ years of experience developing and deploying learning-from-demonstration.
- Strong programming skills in Python, with proficiency in deep learning frameworks such as PyTorch.
- Experience with modern learning-from-demonstration tools like DiffusionPolicy.
- Experience with robot data collection, training, and testing on hardware to perform manipulation tasks.
- Ability to work collaboratively in a fast-paced environment to deliver safe, high-quality software.
- MS in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
BONUS POINTS
- PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
- Publications in top ML or robotics conferences (e.g. NeurIPS, ICML, CoRL, RSS, ICRA).
- Familiarity with robot simulation environments (e.g. Mujoco, Isaac Sim) and sim-to-real transfer techniques.
- Experience with modern reinforcement learning techniques for locomotion, manipulation, and whole-body control.
- Experience with writing performant, high quality software in C++.
This a hybrid position based out of one of our Salem, Pittsburgh, or Fremont offices.
The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to: market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This range may change based on geographical location and may be modified in the future.
In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of the following for full-time employees:
- 401(k) Plan: Includes a 6% company match.
- Equity: Company stock options.
- Insurance Coverage: 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long-term disability insurance for employees.
- Benefit Start Date: Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
- Well-Being Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
- Time Off:
- Exempt Employees: Flexible, unlimited PTO and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
- Non-Exempt Employees: 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.
- On-Site Perks: Catered lunches four times a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
- Parental Leave: Generous paid parental leave programs.
- Work Environment: A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
- Growth Opportunities: Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.
- Relocation Assistance: Provided for eligible roles.
- Annual Discretionary Bonus: Provided for eligible roles.
All of our roles are U.S.-based. Applicants must have current authorization to work in the United States.
Agility Robotics is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, it is the policy of Agility Robotics to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Agility Robotics prohibits any such discrimination or harassment.
Agility Robotics does not accept unsolicited referrals from third-party recruiting agencies. We prioritize direct applicants and encourage all qualified candidates to apply directly through our careers page. If you are represented by a third party, your application may not be considered. To ensure full consideration, please apply directly.
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Get Access To All JobsTips for Finding Visa Sponsorship as an AI Research Engineer
Target employers with established H-1B filing histories
Companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, and OpenAI file hundreds of H-1B petitions annually for research roles. Employers with existing immigration infrastructure move faster and are far less likely to back out after an offer.
Lead with publications, patents, and benchmarks
AI Research Engineer applications succeed when candidates demonstrate measurable research output. Papers on arXiv, NeurIPS acceptances, or model benchmarks give visa petitions concrete evidence of specialty occupation standing and strengthen O-1A eligibility significantly.
Clarify your degree field matches the role
H-1B specialty occupation requires a directly related degree. A PhD in computer science, electrical engineering, or statistics aligns cleanly. Applied mathematics or physics degrees typically qualify too, but include transcript evidence that your coursework covers machine learning specifically.
Ask about cap-exempt employer options early
Universities, federally funded research centers, and nonprofits affiliated with research institutions are H-1B cap-exempt. AI researchers working in academia or national labs can receive H-1B approval any time of year, bypassing the lottery entirely.
Consider the O-1A visa if you have a strong research record
If you have peer-reviewed publications, a high citation count, or have judged others' research, the O-1A is worth evaluating. It has no annual cap, no lottery, and approval rates for credentialed AI researchers with documented contributions run well above average.
Disclose OPT or STEM OPT status upfront with employers
Many AI research roles at qualifying employers allow you to bridge from STEM OPT directly into H-1B cap-gap coverage. Being transparent early lets employers plan the I-129 filing timeline and avoid gaps in your work authorization continuity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an AI Research Engineer role qualify as an H-1B specialty occupation?
Yes, AI Research Engineer consistently qualifies as an H-1B visa specialty occupation. USCIS recognizes it as a role that normally requires at least a bachelor's degree in a specific field such as computer science, machine learning, or electrical engineering. Roles focused on model architecture, training pipelines, or applied research have strong approval histories, particularly when the employer can document that a theoretical and practical degree background is standard for the position.
Do I need a PhD to get H-1B sponsorship as an AI Research Engineer?
No, a PhD is not required, but it significantly strengthens both your sponsorship prospects and the visa petition itself. Most employers will sponsor candidates with a master's degree in a relevant field, especially when paired with publications, industry experience, or open-source contributions. Some roles at research-focused labs de facto prefer PhDs, so review job descriptions carefully. You can browse AI Research Engineer roles with sponsorship on Migrate Mate to see how requirements vary by employer.
Can I qualify for an O-1A visa as an AI Research Engineer?
Yes, and many AI researchers are stronger O-1A candidates than they realize. USCIS evaluates O-1A petitions across ten criteria, including published work in peer-reviewed venues, high citation counts, judging others' research, and contributions of major significance. Researchers with NeurIPS, ICML, or ICLR publications, or whose work is widely cited, often meet three or more criteria. The O-1A has no lottery and no cap, making it a practical alternative for researchers who miss the H-1B selection.
What happens to my visa status if I switch employers between research projects?
If you're on H-1B status, you can begin working for a new employer as soon as they file an H-1B transfer petition with USCIS, under H-1B portability rules, without waiting for approval. Your authorization continues as long as the new petition is non-frivolous and filed before your current status expires. If you're on STEM OPT, employer changes require updating your I-983 training plan within ten days, so notify your designated school official immediately when an offer is confirmed.
Which types of employers sponsor AI Research Engineer roles most reliably?
Large technology companies with dedicated AI divisions, semiconductor firms, cloud infrastructure providers, defense contractors, and academic medical centers with research arms are the most consistent sponsors. Universities and federally funded research centers are especially valuable because they are H-1B cap-exempt, meaning no lottery. Startups can and do sponsor, but their immigration infrastructure varies widely. Migrate Mate filters AI Research Engineer roles by sponsorship availability so you can identify employers already filing petitions in this category.
What is the prevailing wage requirement for sponsored AI Research Engineer jobs?
U.S. employers sponsoring a visa must pay at least the prevailing wage, which is what workers in the same role, area, and experience level typically earn. The Department of Labor sets this rate to make sure companies aren't hiring foreign workers simply because they'd accept lower pay than a U.S. worker. It varies by job title, location, and experience. You can look up current prevailing wage rates for any occupation and location using the OFLC Wage Search page.