Research Scientist / Ethics & Society
Job Details
permanent
Cambridge, Eastern, United Kingdom
Boston Dynamics AI Institute
11.12.2023
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Full Job Description
Our Mission
Our mission is
to solve the most important and fundamental challenges in AI and
Robotics to enable future generations of intelligent machines that
will help us all live better lives.
The AI
Institute ethics & society team does forward-thinking,
cross-disciplinary research on the societal impact of robotics. Our
research aims to ground societal conversations about robotics with
evidence, providing the data needed for decision makers to make
informed choices about the integration and regulation of robotic
systems.
Our approach is creative,
rigorous, and highly collaborative. The research team brings together
members from different disciplines, all of whom use scientifically
grounded methodologies. The team chooses its own research topics and
projects, working to identify and examine under-explored questions at
the intersections of law & policy, ethics, market forces, and
robotics. We are committed to high-quality work on a few projects at a
time, publishing only peer-reviewed research.
Aside from doing independent research, the team is fully
embedded at the institute. The team hosts institute-wide workshops and
conversations, and engages with all of the research & development at
the Institute.
Research Scientists will have a background in a core social
science discipline, including (but not limited to) anthropology,
sociology, political economics, philosophy, STS, history, or other
related fields. We also welcome applicants with an engineering or
computer science background who are well-versed in social science
questions and methodologies. All researchers must have a proven track
record of cross-disciplinary, collaborative research at the
intersection of social and technical systems.
If you are passionate about investigating the societal
implications of robots, and excited to be embedded in a cutting-edge
robotics institute, this team will be a great fit for you!
Responsibilities
- Work with the team to identify areas of opportunity/interest and jointly plan out team research projects
- Collaboratively design, execute, and support mixed-method research studies involving data collection and analysis
- Co-manage team research projects
- Prepare and co-author peer-reviewed publications
- Engage with the robotics research & development teams at the Institute
- Other responsibilities as needed
Requirements
- MS or PhD in a relevant field
- 5+ years of research experience
- Track-record of collaborative, cross-disciplinary research
- Familiarity with social science methodologies, with deep expertise in at least one methodological approach
- Experience with designing and executing data-intensive research studies
- Record of peer-reviewed publishing
- Strong analytical and critical thinking abilities
- Strong interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills, ability to work within a multidisciplinary environment
Bonus
- Deep knowledge of statistics, data processing, or data science
- Experience with robotic systems
- Record of impactful peer-reviewed publications in top-tier conferences and journals
- Experience working in both academic and industry research environments
We provide equal employment
opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and
prohibit 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.