Research Scientist / Engineer: Dynamics and Control

Holiday Robotics; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity packages

Health insurance

401(k) retirement plan

Relocation stipend

Free daily meals

Job summary

Holiday Robotics Research Inc. in Mountain View, CA is seeking a Research Scientist/Engineer to lead dynamics and control research for dexterous manipulation on the Friday humanoid robot.

You will design, test, and deploy end-to-end control pipelines from perception to planning and control, bridging simulation and real-world experiments. You will collaborate with hardware, firmware, control, and ML teams to build digital twins and validate models in in-house simulation and on real robots,

Qualifications

• BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Robotics or related quantitative field.
• 7+ years robotics experience with dynamics and control of physical arms.
• Strong theory in rigid body mechanics, Jacobians, and screw/wrench formulations.
• Background in motion planning, control theory, and optimization.
• Proficiency with AI-assisted coding practices (Claude/Codex).

Skills

Robotics dynamics

Dynamics & control

Motion planning

Optimization

AI-assisted coding

Reinforcement learning

Sim-to-real

Bimanual manipulation

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Robotics or related field

Tools

Claude

Codex

Job description

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Research Scientist / Engineer: Dynamics and Control

Mountain View, CA (On-site)

• Full-time

About The Role

Holiday Robotics Research Inc. is the US subsidiary of Holiday Robotics, the fastest-growing robotics company in South Korea. We build our systems entirely from scratch - hardware, firmware, low-level controllers, simulators, and end-user software - all in-house, with the goal of freeing humans from tedious, dangerous, and repetitive tasks.

We are looking for a Research Scientist / Engineer to drive research in the dynamics and control of dexterous, contact-rich manipulation. Your primary role is to design control algorithms that enable our robot to interact with physical objects, transitioning your research into real-world deployment for highly adaptable tasks such as assembly, object transport, and complex bimanual manipulation.

You will design and implement bimanual manipulation algorithms for our mobile-based humanoid robot, Friday, using multi-fingered hands, and develop the end-to-end pipeline spanning perception, grasping, trajectory optimization, motion planning, and control. Working closely with the hardware, firmware, and control teams on exact modeling and system identification, you will build highly accurate digital twins in our in-house simulator and run rigorous, iterative testing across both simulation and the real world, collaborating with the machine learning teams to train and deploy robust models.

Key Areas

• Bimanual manipulation


• Multi-fingered hands


• Contact-rich control


• Trajectory optimization


• System identification


• Digital twins


• Sim-to-real

Required Qualifications

• BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a closely related quantitative field.


• 7+ years of experience (or 5+ years with an advanced degree) in robotics, with a strong emphasis on the dynamics and control of physical robotic arms - both custom-built and commercially available systems.


• Deep theoretical and applied understanding of rigid body mechanics and dynamics, including differentiable forward/inverse kinematics, analytic/geometric Jacobians, and screw/wrench formulations.


• Strong background in motion planning, control theory, and optimization, prioritizing mathematical exactness for the governing physical equations.


• Proficiency in modern, AI-assisted coding practices - using tools like Claude and Codex to rapidly write, debug, and optimize code, accelerating the transition from theoretical research to real-robot deployment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience applying reinforcement learning (RL) or generative AI models to robotic manipulators.


• Experience designing and implementing vision-to-servo pipelines that perform under challenging lighting and occlusion.


• Experience bridging the sim-to-real gap by validating physical models in real-world environments.


• Experience in bimanual manipulation, including object handovers, dual-arm coordination, and force/wrench control.

What We Offer

• Base salary range: $200,000 – $300,000 USD annually, commensurate with experience and technical proficiency.


• Competitive equity packages in a rapidly growing, well-funded startup.


• 100% employer-covered health, dental, and vision insurance (full-network PPO).


• 401(k) retirement plan.


• Relocation stipend for out-of-state candidates.


• Free daily meals.