Institute of Foundation Models

Institute of Foundation Models - Machine Learning Engineer – World Modeling Machine Learning Engineer – World Modeling Abu Dhabi Engineering / Full-time / On-site apply for this job About the Institute of Foundation Models The Institute of Foundation Models (IFM) at MBZUAI is a research lab dedicated to meaningful foundation model research — building models from scratch, understanding them deeply, and publishing work that shapes the field. You’ll work alongside world-class researchers and engineers on problems that directly define the models we ship. The Role Join the PAN world model project — our effort to build world models: foundation models that simulate, predict, and interact with the physical world. As a Machine Learning Engineer, you’ll own the engineering backbone of PAN: large-scale video and simulation data pipelines, distributed training for diffusion transformers, game-engine simulation environments, and world-model integration into robotics — turning research ideas into reliable, scalable systems. What You'll Do - Build and maintain large-scale video and simulation data pipelines — collection, cleaning, annotation, and filtering — to support world model training. - Develop and optimize distributed training systems for large-scale diffusion transformers and world models. - Build interactive simulation environments (e.g., Unreal Engine, Blueprint-based gyms, game integrations) for training and evaluating world models. - Integrate world action models / video action models into robotics systems. - Optimize inference and serving for real-time interaction, and turn research prototypes into reliable, reproducible systems. What We're Looking For - BSc or above in Machine Learning, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field, or equivalent industry experience. - Hands-on experience with state-of-the-art video generative models and world models (e.g., Cosmos-3, LTX 2.3, Self-Forcing, Lingbot-World, or comparable systems). - Deep expert