Simulation Realism Engineer
About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors.
What this role actually needs.
About the Team Our Robotics team is focused on unlocking general-purpose robotics and pushing towards AGI-level intelligence in dynamic, real-world settings. Working across the entire model stack, we integrate cutting-edge hardware and software to explore a broad range of robotic form factors. Responsibilities: - Define and operationalize realism metrics & protocols. Design experiments and automated tests to find specific areas of non-realism, quantify gaps, and track regressions over time. - Fine-tune engine parameters (contacts, friction, mass/density, solver settings) and object models so simulated dynamics match measured reality. - Evaluate, integrate, and — where necessary — extend 3rd-party physics, rendering, and sensor simulation engines (e.g., Isaac, PhysX, MuJoCo, video renderers or sensor sim frameworks). Lead vendor POCs and benchmark features to influence roadmaps. - Create standards, guidelines, and interactive tools for authoring and validating asset physical/visual properties; implement semi- or fully-automated pipelines to tune and optimize assets for target engines. - Solve technical issues for running engines in the cloud (OS, drivers, GPU), parallelize simulations (batching many runs per engine instance), and harden real-world-facing pipelines so sims can run reliably at scale. - Own validation campaigns (teleop, HIL regression suites, metric computation) and partner with research to close the loop between simulation improvements and downstream model performance. Company context: OpenAI builds frontier AI systems, research infrastructure, and applied products for developers, enterprises, and global users.
Day-to-day expectations
OpenAI lists these responsibilities for the Simulation Realism Engineer role.
- Define and operationalize realism metrics & protocols. Design experiments and automated tests to find specific areas of non-realism, quantify gaps, and track regressions over time.
- Fine-tune engine parameters (contacts, friction, mass/density, solver settings) and object models so simulated dynamics match measured reality.
- Evaluate, integrate, and — where necessary — extend 3rd-party physics, rendering, and sensor simulation engines (e.g., Isaac, PhysX, MuJoCo, video renderers or sensor sim frameworks). Lead vendor POCs and benchmark features to influence roadmaps.
- Create standards, guidelines, and interactive tools for authoring and validating asset physical/visual properties; implement semi- or fully-automated pipelines to tune and optimize assets for target engines.
- Solve technical issues for running engines in the cloud (OS, drivers, GPU), parallelize simulations (batching many runs per engine instance), and harden real-world-facing pipelines so sims can run reliably at scale.
- Own validation campaigns (teleop, HIL regression suites, metric computation) and partner with research to close the loop between simulation improvements and downstream model performance.
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Source: jobs.ashbyhq.com · Source ID: e2e59dcf-1017-45c5-8e6e-509a5812959b · Confidence: 97/100 · Last checked: May 7, 2026
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