Robotics Controls Engineer - Real-Time Motion for Humanoids

XDOF; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

XDOF in San Francisco is seeking a Robotics Controls Engineer to develop high-performance control systems for dexterous manipulators and humanoid robots. You will ensure safe, precise, and repeatable motion for teleoperation and autonomous runs across diverse tasks.

Ideal candidates bring hands-on controller development on real robotic systems and strong C++/Python skills in real-time settings. This is a fast-paced, 0→1 environment at a cutting-edge robotics frontier.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or master’s degree (or equivalent) in robotics, mechanical/ electrical engineering, computer science, or related field.
• Strong fundamentals in robot dynamics, kinematics, and feedback control.
• Hands-on experience implementing controllers on real robotic systems, not just in simulation.
• Strong C++ and/or Python skills with comfort in real-time robotics systems.

Responsibilities

• Implement joint-space and Cartesian impedance/torque control for 7+ DoF robotic arms.
• Build whole-body control (WBC) for humanoids with mobile bases, arms, and actuated torsos.
• Design optimization-based controllers: QP formulations, inverse dynamics, task/null-space control, redundancy resolution.
• Develop collision-aware motion and control, including self-collision avoidance and environment constraints.
• Implement and integrate real-time control software on physical robots from simulation through hardware deployment.
• Tune and validate controller performance across diverse manipulation and locomotion tasks.
• Collaborate with data collection operators and hardware teams to diagnose and resolve control-related failures during teleoperation and autonomous runs.

Skills

Robotics degree

Robot dynamics & controls

C++ / Python

Real-time robotics

Education

Bachelor's or Master's in robotics, EE, CS

Job description

XDOF in San Francisco is seeking a Robotics Controls Engineer to develop high-performance control systems for dexterous manipulators and humanoid robots. You will ensure safe, precise, and repeatable motion for teleoperation and autonomous runs across diverse tasks.

Ideal candidates bring hands-on controller development on real robotic systems and strong C++/Python skills in real-time settings. This is a fast-paced, 0→1 environment at a cutting-edge robotics frontier.