Planning Autonomy Researcher (B.S./M.S./Ph.D.) (Minneapolis, MN; Boston, MA)
Planning Autonomy Researcher
Location: Minneapolis/Boston
Note: Due to the nature of our contract work, positions at SIFT are restricted to US citizens and permanent residents. Also, this position requires that you be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless you require a reasonable accommodation for religion or a health-related need.
SIFT has a rich history conducting research in automated planning and intent recognition. SIFT researchers have led efforts in planning under real-time constraints (CIRCA), planning as a hierarchical decomposition exercise (SHOP3), and planning under uncertainty. We have also applied plan recognition to intelligent user interfaces, computer security, sketch understanding, natural language understanding, and many other problems. SIFT researchers pioneered the use of Bayesian probabilistic methods in intent recognition. In cooperation with University researchers, SIFT has developed the ELEXIR system for intent recognition that achieves new levels of computational efficiency by using parsing methods and Monte Carlo tree search. SIFT is looking to add to our deep bench of planning/plan recognition expertise for current research projects and new research opportunities.
What will you do as a Planning Autonomy Researcher at SIFT?
As a Planning Autonomy Researcher at SIFT, you will have the opportunity to:
- Develop planning-based applications for autonomous systems, including:
- Domain modeling in PDDL and related planning languages,
- Planning algorithm development or customization,
- Plan scheduling and execution algorithm development, and
- Planner test suites for both regression and scaling.
- Apply contemporary software engineering practices to support the software development lifecycle, including:
- Version control
- CI/CD
- Technical Writing
- Collaboration
- Communicate results of research through presentations, publications, demonstrations, and digital artifacts.
- Contribute to proposal writing, marketing, project management, and business development.
What kind of background is needed for this role?
- Experience with LISP, Python, C++/C, Java
- Experience/Familiarity with planning applications including cybersecurity, laboratory science, social science, logistics, software verification, machine learning, and plan recognition.
What are some of the benefits of working at SIFT?
- Liberal Flex Time Policy: you can work in a way that makes sense for your work/life balance.
- Salary is open to negotiation and will be competitive.
- Health, Dental, Life, and Disability Insurance (SIFT pays 80% of health insurance premium and 100% of life insurance premium).
- 20 paid vacation days per year, plus unlimited sick days.
- 401K matching funds (5% of salary, vested immediately; options of traditional 401k, Roth 401k, or combination, with access to 50+ mutual funds).
- Bonus program for technical merit/contribution.
- Computer of choice (Mac, Windows, or Linux) provided by SIFT.
- Home Office - $2,000 allowance/year.
- Full internet and cell phone reimbursement.
- Profit sharing (as 401k distributions or additional vacation days).
- Tuition reimbursement for continuing education (50% of tuition paid, up to $10,000 per year).
- Parking and bus card reimbursement.
Working at SIFT
SIFT is a unique company that values innovation and employee empowerment. As a small, but stable, business SIFT provides an efficient and thin organizational structure that helps employees focus upon doing interesting technical work without significant red-tape.
SIFT's cooperative-style work environment provides employees a platform to set and pursue their professional interests, including opportunities to focus upon engineering, basic research, project management, business development, IT, and commercialization.
You can apply through this Handshake post, or simply email your resume to hiring@sift.net!