Robotic Controls Engineer

Enact; Zürich; On-site; CHF 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Visa sponsorship & relocation benefits

Central Zürich base with prototyping &

Meaningful equity participation

Competitive compensation

Job summary

Enact in Zürich is seeking a robotics systems engineer to develop the proprioceptive motion control layer, enabling high-contact manipulation that is predictable, smooth, and safe across varied conditions.

You will design model- and learning-based estimation and control algorithms, build runtime loops for teleoperation and AI-driven manipulation, and work with hardware and AI researchers to push the performance of the full stack robot system.

Qualifications

• Degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or related field.
• Strong theoretical and practical grasp of model- and learning-based whole-body control and state estimation.
• Experience with robot simulation environments (MuJoCo, Isaac Sim, or similar) and robot description files (URDF, USD, etc.).
• Proven ability to take complex algorithms from concept through hardware integration to production-ready real-time robot software.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement model- and learning-based estimation and control algorithms, along with runtime loops for teleoperation and AI-driven manipulation from simulation to real robot system.
• Debug and diagnose complex system behaviors spanning hardware, software, and algorithms.
• Own robot bring-up, including validation and refinement of robot model descriptions for simulation and control, addressing sim-to-real gaps.
• Collaborate with hardware and AI researchers to continuously improve the full stack robot system.

Skills

Proficient in Python

Rust or C/C++

Model-based whole-body control

State estimation

Robotics fundamentals

Education

BSc/MSc/PhD in Robotics or Mechanical Engineering

Tools

MuJoCo

Isaac Sim

URDF

USD

MuJoCo XML

Job description

About Enact

The next defining technological breakthrough will be in the physical world. We stand at a historical inflection point: bringing general-purpose intelligence into robotics.

At Enact we rethink the entire robotic tech stack from model architectures and data pipelines, to the actuators and sensors that feed the model. Pushing beyond pure vision and language approaches, we build a proprioceptive nerve system, and the cortex that makes sense of it, to solve dexterity through whole-body force-awareness and deploy robots for thousands of tasks in industry and beyond.

We are shaping a company where brilliant and unconventional people thrive together on solving the hardest challenges of our time. We are truth seekers. We reason from first principles, test our beliefs against reality, and trust that the best ideas can come from anyone. We move fast. We care deeply about our work and colleagues and are driven by passion to change the status quo.

If this resonates, we're excited to hear from you.

In This Role

You will develop the proprioceptive motion control layer to enable our robots to do high contact manipulation predictably, smoothly, and safely under varied and uncertain conditions.

• Design and implement model- and learning-based estimation and control algorithms, along with the runtime loops that form the backbone for teleoperation and our AI-driven manipulation, from simulation to the real robot system.
• Debug and diagnose complex system behaviors spanning the interplay of hardware, software, and algorithms.
• Own robot bring-up, including validation and refinement of our robot model descriptions (URDF, MuJoCo XML, USD, etc.) for simulation and control, characterizing and adjusting for the sim-to-real gap as needed.
• Work together with both our hardware team and our AI researchers to continuously assess and push the performance of our full stack robot system

What We're Looking For

• Degree (BSc/MSc/PhD) in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
• Excellent theoretical and practical grasp of model and learning based whole-body control and state estimation
• Experience with robot simulation environments (MuJoCo, Isaac Sim, or similar) and robot description files (URDF, USD, etc.)
• Proven ability to take complex algorithms from concept through hardware integration to production-ready real-time robot software
• Strong proficiency in Python, complemented by efficient low-level programming skills in Rust or C/C++
  

Bonus Points If You Have

• Hands-on experience with tensor and automatic differentiation frameworks such as JAX, PyTorch, CppAD, Burn, or similar.
• Experience with whole-body force estimation
• Experience in developing reinforcement learning based robot control
• Experience in robot safety, including Control Barrier Functions and/or relevant industry certifications.
• Experience in contact rich manipulation, preferably including teleoperation and interfacing with large behavior models such as VLAs.
  

What we offer

• The opportunity to make a real impact working on some of the biggest challenges of our time
• A fast-paced learning environment alongside an outstanding, driven team
• Ownership from day one, with the ability to iterate quickly and see your impact firsthand in an early-stage startup
• Visa sponsorship & relocation benefits to hire the best in the world
• A world-class in-person setup in central Zürich, with excellent prototyping, robotics, and technical infrastructure for hands-on builders
• Competitive compensation and meaningful equity participation