Senior Controls Engineer

Deftai; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 100,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Daily meals stipend

Job summary

Deftai in San Francisco is seeking a Senior Controls Engineer to work on low-level control and motion systems for production-ready robots. You will ship code on real hardware, debug edge cases on the factory floor, and directly impact robot performance.

You'll design real-time supervisory control, improve IK solvers, develop sensor fusion for precise localization, and integrate new actuators with safety limits. This is a hands-on, full-time onsite role with competitive compensation and benefits.

Qualifications

• Strong fundamentals in classical control theory with hands-on hardware experience.
• Proficiency in Python and C/C++ for real-time robotics.
• Hands-on experience with IK solvers and simulation tools.
• Experience with rigid-body kinematics and frame transforms.
• Experience with sensor fusion using IMU/encoders.

Responsibilities

• Design real-time supervisory control for mode transitions.
• Improve inverse kinematics solvers for multi-arm work.
• Develop sensor fusion for precise localization.
• Integrate actuators and safety limits for bimanual arms.

Skills

Control theory

Python

C/C++

Inverse IK

Kinematics

Sensor fusion

Tools

PyBullet

MuJoCo

Drake

ROS/ROS2

CAN bus

Job description

Our robots operate in real production environments where control reliability isn't optional — it's the difference between a deployed system and a demo. As a Senior Controls Engineer, you'll work directly on the low-level control and motion systems that make our bimanual wheeled robots safe, precise, and production-ready. This is not a paper-reading internship. You'll ship code that runs on real hardware, debug edge cases that only surface on the factory floor, and see the direct impact of your work on deployed robot performance.

What You'll Do

• Design and implement real-time supervisory control systems for smooth handoff between autonomous and teleoperated modes, including trajectory blending and forward-consistent motion during transitions.
• Improve inverse kinematics solvers for multi-arm manipulation — resolving singularities, boundary failures, and ensuring robust solutions across the full reachable workspace.
• Develop sensor fusion pipelines (IMU, odometry, vision) for precise mobile base localization and orientation control under tight angular tolerances.
• Integrate new actuators for bimanual arm systems — including motor driver communication, torque/position/velocity control mode configuration, gain tuning, and safety limit implementation

Required Qualifications

• Strong fundamentals in classical control theory (PID, impedance/admittance control, state estimation) with hands-on experience implementing controllers on physical hardware.
• Proficiency in Python and C/C++ for real-time embedded or robotic applications.
• Hands‑on experience with inverse kinematics solvers and simulation environments (PyBullet, MuJoCo, Drake, or similar), including practical familiarity with IK libraries or custom Jacobian-based implementations.
• Experience with rigid‑body kinematics, coordinate frame transformations (homogeneous transforms, SE(3), quaternion representations)
• Experience with sensor fusion techniques (Kalman filtering, complementary filters) using IMU, encoders, or similar proprioceptive sensors.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience with ROS/ROS2, CAN bus communication, or motor control interfaces.
• Familiarity with trajectory smoothing and interpolation methods (spline‑based planning, Ruckig, or similar time‑optimal trajectory libraries).
• Experience with wheeled or mobile robot platforms, including human in the loop data collection framework
• Daily meals stipend.

Interview Process Phone screen + 2 virtual technical interviews + onsite

Expected Compensation

• $100,000 - $200,000 annual salary + cash and stock awards + benefits
• The pay offered for this position may vary based on several individual factors, including job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. The total compensation package may also include additional components/benefits depending on the specific role. This information will be shared if an employment offer is extended.

Onsite Work Requirement

This is a full‑time, five‑day‑a‑week onsite role in our San Francisco, CA, office. Please confirm if you can meet this onsite requirement.

US Work Authorization

Are you a US Citizen, Green Card Holder or Valid Visa Holder (H1‑B, O‑1, TN, E‑3, OPT, etc)?