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Physics Simulation Jobs in Seattle, WA (NOW HIRING)

SpaceX

Software Engineer (Starlink Mobile)

Redmond, WA · On-site

$149K - $187K/yr

... physics simulation, or other real-time, resource-constrained, high-performance computing • Knowledgeable in network topology, numerical optimization techniques, graph theoretic approaches, or ...

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Physics Simulation information

See Seattle, WA salary details

$12.5K

$76.9K

$138.3K

How much do physics simulation jobs pay per year?

As of Jul 15, 2026, the average yearly pay for physics simulation in Seattle, WA is $76,932.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $50,100.00 and $90,500.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive in the Physics Simulation position, and why are they important?

To thrive in a Physics Simulation role, you need a solid background in physics, mathematics, and computer science, often supported by a relevant STEM degree. Proficiency in simulation software (such as MATLAB, ANSYS, or COMSOL), programming languages (like Python or C++), and familiarity with numerical modeling systems are typically required. Strong problem-solving skills, attention to detail, and effective collaboration and communication abilities are highly valued in this field. These competencies ensure accurate simulation results, efficient teamwork, and the ability to tackle complex real-world challenges in research or industry settings.

What are the typical daily tasks and responsibilities for someone working in Physics Simulation?

Professionals in Physics Simulation spend much of their day developing, testing, and refining computational models to represent physical phenomena, often collaborating with engineers and scientists to define simulation objectives. Responsibilities may include writing or optimizing code, analyzing simulation outputs, adjusting parameters to improve accuracy, and documenting methodologies and results. You might also participate in team meetings to review project milestones, discuss findings, and recommend design or process improvements based on your simulations. The role often involves both independent technical work and cross-disciplinary cooperation, making adaptability and clear communication important for success.

What is a Physics Simulation job?

A Physics Simulation job involves developing and implementing mathematical models to replicate real-world physical behaviors in software. Professionals in this field work with physics engines, numerical methods, and programming to simulate motion, collisions, fluid dynamics, or other physical phenomena. These simulations are used in industries such as gaming, film VFX, engineering, and scientific research to test and visualize complex systems. Strong skills in physics, programming (e.g., C++, Python), and computational techniques are essential for success in this role.

What are the most commonly searched types of Physics Simulation jobs in Seattle, WA? The most popular types of Physics Simulation jobs in Seattle, WA are:
What are popular job titles related to Physics Simulation jobs in Seattle, WA? For Physics Simulation jobs in Seattle, WA, the most frequently searched job titles are:
What job categories do people searching Physics Simulation jobs in Seattle, WA look for? The top searched job categories for Physics Simulation jobs in Seattle, WA are:
Physics Simulation jobs near you
Infographic showing various Physics Simulation job openings in Seattle, WA as of July 2026, with employment types broken down into 76% Full Time, 21% Part Time, 1% Temporary, and 2% Contract. Highlights an 82% Physical, 1% Hybrid, and 17% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $76,932 per year, or $37 per hour.
Member of Technical Staff, Microsoft Robotics (Robotics Simulation)

Member of Technical Staff, Microsoft Robotics (Robotics Simulation)

Microsoft

Redmond, WA • On-site

Full-time

Re-posted 17 days ago

Microsoft rating

8.5

Company rating: 8.5 out of 10

Based on 131 frontline employees who took The Breakroom Quiz

68th of 209 rated software companies

Job description

Overview
Microsoft's Discovery and Quantum (MDQ) division develops and delivers advanced artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-enabled capabilities, and strategic technologies to help solve the world's major challenges. From accelerating scientific discovery with advanced AI tools, to pioneering breakthroughs in quantum computing, to advancing robotics and AI capabilities that drive real-world impact, joining MDQ means building the future, partnering with fast-moving innovators, and operating in a high-impact, mission-driven environment.
At Microsoft Robotics within MDQ, we build and deploy technologies that enable people, robots, and AI agents to collaborate and achieve more.
We are building Microsoft's platform for physical intelligence-an integrated robotics software and AI platform that brings together humans, robots, and agents through robotics AI models, innovative teaming solutions and experiences, physically grounded agentic AI workflows, trustworthy test and evaluation, and real-world customer-focused validation. Built on Microsoft's core platforms and delivered through and with a global ecosystem of partners and customers, this platform accelerates AI for the physical world and helps robotics solutions move from experimentation to reliable, scaled deployment.
We are hiring a Member of Technical Staff, Microsoft Robotics (Robotics Simulation) at the Senior level, to lead the design, integration, and analysis of physics-based simulation frameworks that underpin robotics development, testing, and AI model training across Microsoft's robotics platform. This engineer will architect and optimize high-fidelity simulation environments that accurately model robot kinematics, dynamics, sensors, actuators, and contact physics, enabling reinforcement learning training, closed-loop policy evaluation, synthetic data generation, and sim-to-real transfer. The role bridges advanced physics simulation, robotics autonomy stacks, and large-scale ML infrastructure to accelerate the development and deployment of physically grounded AI.
Microsoft's mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others, and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.
#MicrosoftRobotics #MDQ
Responsibilities
  • Design, develop, and maintain physics-based simulation frameworks for robotics applications, including accurate modeling of rigid-body dynamics, articulated mechanisms, contact and friction, deformable objects, and fluid interactions as required by target robot platforms.
  • Implement essential robotics simulation features, including accurate sensor models (cameras, LiDAR, IMUs, force/torque sensors, tactile arrays), actuator models, controller interfaces, and communication protocols that mirror real robot hardware behavior.
  • Build real-to-sim and sim-to-real workflows for dynamic environments and robotics tasks, implementing domain randomization, system identification, and physics parameter tuning to minimize sim-to-real gaps.
  • Create and maintain asset toolchains supporting industry-standard formats (USD, URDF, MJCF, SDF) and integrate with 3D content pipelines for environment and robot model ingestion.
  • Develop simulation infrastructure for robust autonomy test and evaluation, enabling the use of rigorous test methods and design of experiments for validation and verification-based of robotics technologies and algorithms.
  • Develop simulation infrastructure for robot learning policies, including reinforcement learning training at scale, with parallelized environment instances, reward instrumentation, curriculum management, and integration with distributed ML training frameworks.
  • Collaborate closely with robotics engineers, ML researchers, and platform engineers to enable large-scale robotics development, training pipelines, benchmarking suites, and automated evaluation workflows.
  • Lead architectural decisions for simulation platform selection, customization, and extension, evaluating and integrating engines such as MuJoCo, Isaac Sim, Gazebo, Genesis or proprietary solutions based on fidelity, performance, and scalability requirements.
  • Review product code and test code to ensure it meets team standards for simulation accuracy, performance, and maintainability, coaching and providing feedback to develop other engineers' skills.
  • Drive efforts to integrate logging and instrumentation for gathering telemetry data on simulation performance, fidelity metrics, and training pipeline health.
  • Remain current in simulation and physics engine developments-as well as emerging technologies such as physical world models-proactively evaluating new trends, technical solutions, and research advances, and assessing how to adapt them to the robotics platform.

Qualifications
Required Qualifications:
  • Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 4+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
    • OR equivalent experience.

Other Requirements:
  • Ability to meet Microsoft, customer and/or government security screening requirements are required for this role. These requirements include but are not limited to the following specialized security screenings:
    • Microsoft Cloud Background Check: This position will be required to pass the Microsoft Cloud Background Check upon hire/transfer and every two years thereafter.

Preferred Qualifications:
  • Master's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 6+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
    • OR Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science or related technical field AND 8+ years technical engineering experience with coding in languages including, but not limited to, C, C++, C#, Java, JavaScript, or Python
    • OR equivalent experience.
  • Extensive experience in physics simulation engineering, with demonstrated expertise in rigid-body dynamics, contact modeling, or real-time physics engines (e.g., MuJoCo, Newton, PhysX, Bullet, DART).
  • Experience with robotics simulation platforms such as Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, Gazebo, Drake, or equivalent, including sensor simulation and actuator modeling.
  • Strong background in 3D graphics, real-time rendering, or game engine development (Unity, Unreal, or proprietary engines).
  • Experience building sim-to-real transfer pipelines, domain randomization frameworks, or system identification workflows for robotic manipulation or locomotion.
  • Proficiency in Python and C++ with experience in distributed computing, GPU-accelerated simulation, or parallel environment management for RL training.
  • Familiarity with ML frameworks (PyTorch, JAX, TensorFlow) and their integration with simulation environments for end-to-end training pipelines.
  • Experience with asset pipeline toolchains supporting URDF, MJCF, USD, or OpenUSD formats for robot and environment model management.

Software Engineering IC4 - The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $119,800 - $234,700 per year. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $160,200 - $261,000 per year.
Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here:
https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay
This position will be open for a minimum of 5 days, with applications accepted on an ongoing basis until the position is filled.
Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance with religious accommodations and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations.

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About Microsoft

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Our infrastructure is comprised of a large global portfolio of more than 100 datacenters and 1 million servers. Our foundation is built upon and managed by a team of subject matter experts working to support services for more than 1 billion customers and 20 million businesses in over 90 countries worldwide. With environmental sustainability and optimization at the forefront of our datacenter design and operations, we continue to grow and evolve as we meet the ever-changing business demands that hold Microsoft as a world-class cloud provider.

Industry

Computer and computer peripheral equipment and software wholesalers

Company size

10,000+ Employees

Headquarters location

Redmond, WA, US

Year founded

1975

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