Senior Research Scientist: Dynamics and Control

Holiday Robotics Inc.; Mountain View (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

100% employer-covered health, dental, and vision insurance

Competitive equity packages

Relocation stipend for out-of-state candidates

Job summary

Holiday Robotics Inc. in Mountain View, California is seeking a Senior Research Scientist for dynamics and control. In this role, you will design algorithms that enable robots to interact physically with objects, particularly focusing on bimanual manipulation for tasks such as assembly and transport.

The candidate should have over 7 years of experience in robotics, specifically in the dynamics and control of robotic systems. The position offers competitive salary and benefits, including health insurance and equity packages.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in robotics emphasizing dynamics and control.
• Deep understanding of rigid body mechanics and dynamics.
• Proficiency in using AI-assisted coding tools.

Responsibilities

• Design control algorithms for robot interaction with objects.
• Develop bimanual manipulation algorithms for mobile humanoid robots.
• Collaborate with hardware and software teams to build accurate models.

Skills

Robotics

Motion Planning

Control Theory

Optimization

AI-assisted Coding

Education

BS, MS, or Ph.D. in Robotics or related field

Job description

Senior Research Scientist: Dynamics and Control

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 Senior Research Scientist 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 – $250,000 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).
• Relocation stipend for out-of-state candidates.