Robotic Controls Engineer

1X; San Carlos (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Health insurance

401(k)

PTO/Holidays

Job summary

1X is developing humanoid robots for home use, focusing on real-time control, perception, and safe interaction with people. The Senior Robotics Controls Engineer will bridge hardware and AI layers, delivering reliable, scalable motion and balance. You will advance whole-body control and estimation to enable production-ready systems.

The role emphasizes low-latency software, calibration, and diagnostics, with a compensation package including equity and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional experience deploying and debugging control or estimation software on high-DOF robots.
• Proven track record of evaluating and integrating robotics hardware components (sensors and actuators).

Responsibilities

• Develop the real-time software stack for humanoid robots to move, balance, and manipulate with precision.
• Design and deploy fast state estimation and control algorithms for balancing, locomotion, and manipulation.
• Create clean software abstractions and APIs to enable higher-level AI control.
• Perform system identification and calibration of actuators, transmissions, and full-body kinematics.
• Build diagnostics and tools for bring-up, health monitoring, visualization, and logging.

Skills

C++

State estimation

Whole-body control

Linear algebra

Numerical optimization

Tools

ROS2

DDS

Yocto

Embedded C

Job description

About 1X

We’re building humanoid robots that work in home - doing the chores, handling the tasks, and giving people their time back. Simple, but it’s not.

To do this right, we have to solve robotics, AI, manufacturing - at the same time, at scale, in a form factor that has to be safe enough to live with your family. If you’re inspired by this, you’ll thrive here. We’ve been at this since 2014 and we’re at the point where the hard problems are behind us and the hard work is in front of us.

NEO is our flagship - a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world alongside real people. We’re not demoing it - we’re shipping it. We’re excited to meet you, if this excites you.

If you’ve spent your career working on problems that matter and want to see them actually reach the world - this is that moment. We’re scaling, we’re hiring with intention, and we need people who want to build something that will genuinely change how humans spend their time - safely creating abundance for all.

Your Charter

As a Senior Robotics Controls Engineer, you will develop the real-time software stack that enables our humanoid robots to move, balance, and manipulate the world with precision and reliability. Your work will span low-level motor control through whole-body dynamic control and estimation, making complex, high-DOF hardware accessible through clean and efficient software abstractions. This role is pivotal in bridging hardware and AI layers, and your contributions will be critical as we transition from R&D to large-scale production.

Key Outcomes

• Core Robotics Capability: Develop the real-time software stack that enables our humanoid robots to move, balance, and manipulate the world with precision and reliability.

• Control & Estimation: Design and deploy fast, efficient state estimation systems and control algorithms for balancing, locomotion, and manipulation.

• Hardware Abstraction: Make complex, high-DOF hardware accessible through clean, efficient software abstractions and APIs that allow higher-level AI systems to command the robot.

• System Calibration: Successfully perform system identification and calibration of actuators, transmissions, and full-body kinematics.

• Diagnostics & Reliability: Build robust software and tools for hardware bring-up, debugging, health monitoring, visualization, and logging.

Key Competencies

• Domain Expertise: Strong theoretical and applied understanding of rigid body dynamics, linear algebra, and numerical optimization.

• Algorithmic Mastery: Proven ability to implement optimization-based whole-body control, EKF-based state estimation, or model predictive control for legged systems.

• Software Engineering: High proficiency in writing clean, production-ready C++ within a Linux development environment.

• Best Practices: Strong grasp of modern software development practices, including version control, testing methodologies, and system architecture.

• Cross-Disciplinary Troubleshooting: Ability to integrate, evaluate, and debug complex hardware components, bridging the gap between software and physical sensors/actuators.

Minimum Requirements

• 3+ years of professional experience deploying and debugging control or estimation software on high-DOF (Degrees of Freedom) robots.

• Proven track record of evaluating and integrating robotics hardware components (including sensors and actuators) in a professional or advanced academic setting.

Preferred Skills

• Experience with additional languages and frameworks: Java, Unity/C#, Python, real-time Linux, ROS2, or DDS.

• Background in writing embedded C for sensors or actuators.

• Familiarity with the Yocto OS build system.

• Hands-on, independent experience building or tinkering with robotics hardware from scratch.

Benefits & Compensation

• Salary Range: $200,000 - $300,000 + competitive equity

• Health, dental, and vision insurance

• 401(k) with company match

• Paid time off and holidays

Equal Opportunity Employer

1X is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law.