Senior Control Engineer (Reinforcement Learning)

Humanoid; England; On-site; GBP 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading robotics firm in the UK is seeking an experienced Senior or Staff RL Control Engineer to join their team in London. This role focuses on designing and implementing whole-body control frameworks for humanoid robots, along with developing reinforcement-learning-based controllers. Candidates should have a strong background in classical control methods and substantial experience in robotics. The position offers a competitive salary and the chance to collaborate with top-tier engineers in the AI and robotics sector.

Benefits

Competitive salary plus Stock Option Plan

Paid vacation

Comprehensive health insurance

Travel opportunities to London and Vancouver offices

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience developing control software for complex robotic systems.
• Strong theoretical and practical background in classical control.
• Experience validating control architectures both in simulation and on physical hardware.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement whole-body control frameworks for robotic systems.
• Develop RL-based controllers and ensure safety in loco-manipulation behaviors.
• Collaborate with global control teams and validate controllers in simulation and hardware.

Skills

Classical control

C++

Python

Real-time control algorithms

Robotics

Education

M.S. or Ph.D. in Robotics, Control, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field

Tools

ROS2

Job description

Humanoid is the first AI and robotics company in the UK, creating the world’s most advanced, reliable, commercially scalable, and safe humanoid robots. Our first humanoid robot HMND 01 is a next-gen labour automation unit, providing highly efficient services across various use cases, starting with industrial applications.

Our Mission

At Humanoid we strive to create the world’s leading, commercially scalable, safe, and advanced humanoid robots that seamlessly integrate into daily life and amplify human capacity.

Vision

In a world where artificial intelligence opens up new horizons, our faith in its potential unveils a new outlook where, together, humans and machines build a new future filled with knowledge, inspiration, and incredible discoveries. The development of a functional humanoid robot underpins an era of abundance and well‑being where poverty will disappear, and people will be able to choose what they want to do. We believe that providing a universal basic income will eventually be a true evolution of our civilization.

Solution

As the demands on our built environment rise, labour shortages loom. With the world’s workforce increasingly moving away from undesirable tasks, the manufacturing, construction, and logistics industries critical to our daily lives are left exposed. By deploying our general‑purpose humanoid robots in environments deemed hazardous or monotonous, we envision a future where human well‑being is safeguarded while closing the gaps in critical global labour needs.

We are looking for an exceptional Senior or Staff RL Control Engineer to join our Control Team in London.

You will be a key contributor to the development and evolution of our whole‑body control (WBC) software stack - the layer that unifies locomotion, manipulation, and interaction control for our robotic systems.

The ideal candidate combines a strong background in classical control with the ability to develop and integrate reinforcement‑learning‑based control components into complex, real‑time systems. You will work at the intersection of robot dynamics, control architecture, and modern learning‑driven control, collaborating closely with engineers in London and Vancouver who share responsibility for our global control infrastructure.

A key focus of this role will be ensuring safety and robustness in loco‑manipulation behaviors of bipedal robots - designing control strategies that guarantee safe, stable, predictable, and recoverable interaction between locomotion and manipulation subsystems in dynamic environments.

This is a hands‑on, system‑defining role for someone passionate about high‑performance robotic control - from model‑based design to the deployment of advanced control strategies that bring robots to life.

What You’ll Do :

Whole‑Body Control Architecture

• Design, implement, and extend whole‑body control frameworks that coordinate multiple robot subsystems (locomotion, manipulation, teleoperation).
• Develop and maintain mid‑level controllers that translate motion objectives into coherent, stable, real‑time control actions.
• Ensure controllers are modular, deterministic, and extensible, supporting both classical and learning‑based control strategies.
• Architect and tune low‑level controllers for balanced performance, supporting compliant behaviors for learning tasks and precise fallback modes for safety.
• Develop and enforce safety mechanisms within WBC to manage contact, stability, and recovery during combined locomotion and manipulation (loco‑manipulation) behaviors.

Reinforcement Learning Integration

• Develop and integrate RL‑based controllers and policies within the WBC architecture.
• Define clear, robust interfaces between classical controllers and learned components, enabling smooth blending and fallback behaviors.
• Collaborate with the Imitation Learning and Deployment teams to ensure compatibility of runtime systems and deployment pipelines - while maintaining full ownership of control and WBC components.
• Shape RL action spaces to promote safe exploration, avoiding extreme behaviors while enabling smooth policy execution.
• Work with deployment teams to align RL outputs with hardware realities, using simulation penalties and transfer techniques for reliable rollout.

System Integration & Cross‑Site Collaboration

• Collaborate daily with control engineers across Boston, London, and Vancouver, aligning control strategies, architecture, and codebase.
• Benchmark actuator properties (like torque limits and delays) to refine simulation models, closing the sim2real gap.
• Validate controllers in simulation and hardware environments, iterating closely with system‑level testing teams.
• Participate in design reviews, profiling, and performance analysis for high‑impact control modules.
We’re Looking For
• M.S. or Ph.D. in Robotics, Control, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field.
• 5+ years of experience developing control software for complex robotic systems (humanoids, legged platforms, or articulated manipulators).
• Strong theoretical and practical background in classical control (model‑based control, observers, optimal control, QP‑based control).
• Proven ability to design and implement real‑time control algorithms in C++ or Python.
• Deep understanding of robot dynamics, kinematics, and control optimization.
• Experience validating control architectures both in simulation and on physical hardware.

Nice to have

• Experience developing or integrating reinforcement‑learning‑based control policies for high‑DOF systems.
• Familiarity with whole‑body control frameworks, including task hierarchies, optimization‑based control, and constraint handling.
• Background in real‑time or distributed control systems, including ROS2 or real‑time middleware.
• Strong software engineering skills: modular design, benchmarking, testing, and performance profiling.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across geographically distributed teams and disciplines.

What We Offer

• Competitive salary plus participation in our Stock Option Plan
• Paid vacation with adjustments based on your location to comply with local labor laws
• Travel opportunities to our London and Vancouver offices
• Comprehensive health insurance coverage
• Freedom to influence the product and own key initiatives
• Collaboration with top‑tier engineers, researchers, and product experts in AI and robotics
• Startup culture prioritizing speed, transparency, and minimal bureaucracy