Biomechanics Researcher

Halodi Robotics; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A robotics technology firm in California seeks a Biomechanics Researcher to enhance humanoid performance through biological insights. The role focuses on defining human-level performance in engineering terms and requires a PhD in biomechanics or a related field. Responsibilities include studying biological systems, designing tests, and collaborating cross-functionally. Candidates should excel in experimental design, be proficient in Python, and possess a solid understanding of material and motion dynamics. On-site presence is required.

Qualifications

• PhD in biomechanics, biomedical engineering, or mechanical engineering with depth beyond descriptive biomechanics.
• Proven ability to translate biological insights into quantitative models.

Responsibilities

• Study and model biological systems to understand performance.
• Design experimental setups for biological and bio‑inspired systems.
• Translate biological behavior into actionable specifications.
• Collaborate with hardware, materials, and intelligence teams.

Skills

Translating biological insight into quantitative models

Experimental design and data analysis

Understanding material behavior

Proficiency in Python

Education

PhD in biomechanics or related field

Tools

CAD and simulation tools

Job description

Job description

1X

Since its founding in 2015, 1X has been at the forefront of developing advanced humanoid robots designed for household use. Our mission is to create an abundant supply of labor through safe, intelligent humanoids.

We strive for excellence in all we do, solving some of the hardest problems in robotics with the world’s most talented individuals. Every part of our robots is designed and produced in house, from motor coils to AI, reflecting our vertically integrated approach. At 1X, you will own real projects, be recognized for your achievements, and be rewarded based on merit.

Our mission at 1X Labs is to provide the science and technology that enables human-level, general-purpose humanoids.

We are rigorous about identifying the gap between where humanoid performance is today and what human-level capability actually demands. From there, we go deep on fundamentals, take long but efficient and often non-obvious paths, develop new technologies, and carry those advances all the way into the product. We are uniquely positioned to make research outcomes into products with our focus and tight integration in materials, component design, systems engineering and manufacturing.

A humanoid is an unusually integrated system. Meaningful progress only emerges when sensing, actuation, materials, control, and intelligence advance together—each pushed close to its real limits. 1X Labs is built around people who have gone far enough in their own field to reason confidently at those limits, and who can engage seriously with neighboring domains because they understand which constraints truly matter.

You are deeply capable in your domain—enough that your intuition is shaped by years of work on hard, concrete problems. You don’t adopt interdisciplinarity as an identity; it’s a consequence of mastery and working on systems where no single discipline is sufficient.

You’re drawn to environments where technical depth is assumed, ideas are tested against reality, and research only counts if it ultimately ships.

As a Biomechanics Researcher on the 1X Labs team, your role is:

Your responsibility is to help drive humanoid performance toward biological performance not by imitation, but by grounding engineering decisions in biological reference systems.

You define what human-level means in quantitative, engineering-relevant terms. This often requires moving beyond the metrics conventional robotics relies on today and introducing measures that better capture how biological systems generate force, absorb energy, sense contact, and adapt through interaction.

Your work focuses on distilling biological function into actionable specifications: limits, scaling laws, and performance envelopes that guide the design of materials, mechanisms, sensors, actuators, and control systems. In some cases this may inspire bionic solutions; more often, it means shaping technical systems so that despite different implementations their behavior converges toward biological performance.

For example, while we may not build actuators that function like biological muscle, we can define muscle-relevant performance targets—force density, bandwidth, compliance, efficiency, transient response—and drive motors, transmissions, and control systems toward those specs so the system behaves biologically at the task level. The same principle applies across domains: to soft tissue and artificial skin; to tactile sensing, where perception emerges from spatiotemporal structure rather than raw resolution; and to interaction and locomotion, where efficiency, stability, and grace are coupled properties rather than isolated objectives.

In practice, you will:

• Go deep on biological systems: study them, model them, and experiment on them to understand what drives their performance.
• Design and build experimental setups to characterize biological and bio‑inspired systems under realistic conditions.
• Translate biological behavior into quantitative specs that can be acted on by engineers.
• Use those specs to influence the design of materials, mechanisms, sensors, actuators, and control architectures.
• Work closely with teams across hardware, materials, and intelligence to ensure these insights survive contact with real systems and real constraints.

This role sits at the boundary between biology and engineering—and requires being fluent on both sides.

Job requirements

Required Qualifications

• PhD in biomechanics, biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, or a closely related field, with demonstrated depth beyond descriptive biomechanics.
• Strong secondary background or substantial hands‑on experience in a technical engineering domain (e.g. mechanical systems, materials, controls, robotics).
• Proven ability to translate biological insight into quantitative models, specs, or performance targets.
• Deep understanding of material behavior, motion dynamics, and feedback systems.
• High proficiency in experimental work: designing test rigs, building setups, instrumenting systems, and extracting meaningful data.
• Comfortable working in CAD and simulation tools.
• Strong proficiency in Python (or equivalent) for analysis, modeling, and tooling.

Track record of tackling hard, ill‑defined problems where no standard metric or protocol already exists.

We believe the best work is done when collaborating and therefore require in‑person presence in our office locations.