Software Engineer - Simulation

Neuralink; Austin, South San Francisco (TX, CA); On-site; USD 151,000 - 281,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision insurance

RSU equity

401(k) plan

Paid holidays

Meals provided

Parental leave

Flexible time off

Job summary

Neuralink’s next generation surgical robot will perform brain surgery at scale, installing hundreds of tiny threads into the brain to enable brain computer communication. You will own the end to end surgical robot simulation, perform surgery and run tests on the simulated robot, reproduce faults, and automate verification in CI.

The team is hiring engineers at all levels; strong Rust skills and Python testing are essential, with experience in robotics simulation tools and automated integration

Qualifications

• Experience in real robotics or physics simulation is required.
• Strong programming ability in Rust and test tooling in Python.
• Familiarity with robotics simulation tools and CI/test automation is expected.

Responsibilities

• Build the full robot simulation for the surgical robot, including dynamics, sensors, actuators, and interfaces.
• Test real robot software/firmware against simulated hardware.
• Write automated simulation tests, scenarios, regressions, fault injection, and coverage.
• Make runs deterministic, measurable, and cost-effective in CI.
• Reproduce hardware failures in simulation to accelerate testing timelines.
• Collaborate with users to gather feedback and iterate quickly.

Skills

Rust

Python

Bazel

Robotics sim

Async systems

RPC

Telemetry

Job description

We are creating devices that enable a bi-directional interface with the brain. These devices allow us to restore movement to the paralyzed, restore sight to the blind, and revolutionize how humans interact with their digital world.

The Role

Neuralink’s next generation surgical robot will perform brain surgery at scale, installing hundreds of tiny threads into the brain to enable brain computer communication.

You will own the end to end surgical robot simulation. Perform surgery and run tests on the simulated robot. Reproduce faults, and automate verification. Your simulation will enable test & verification to run on every commit.

Note: The team is hiring engineers at all levels, both junior and senior. What matters most is evidence of exceptional abilities and a drive to succeed.

What you’ll do

• Build the full robot sim: dynamics, sensors, actuators, and product-stack interfaces.
• Test the real robot software and firmware against simulated hardware.
• Write automated sim tests: scenarios, regressions, fault injection, and coverage.
• Make runs deterministic, measurable, and cheap enough to run in CI.
• Reproduce hardware failures in sim to accelerate our test timelines.
• The success of the project is on you. You talk to users, get feedback, and iterate fast.

What we’re looking for

• Strong Rust skills; Python for test tooling and analysis. Bazel experience is a plus.
• Real robotics / physics sim experience (MuJoCo, Isaac Sim, Gazebo, or equivalent).
• Experience with async and concurrent systems, hardware interfaces, RPC, and telemetry.
• Experience building automated integration tests and debugging failures across software and firmware.
• Effective at using AI agents to accelerate work while maintaining quality.

The anticipated base salary for this position is expected to be within the following range. Your actual base pay will be determined by your job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. We also believe in aligning our employees’ success with the company's long-term growth. As such, in addition to base salary, Neuralink offers equity compensation (in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSU)) for all full-time employees.

Base Salary Range:

$151,000 - $281,000 USD

What We Offer

Full-time employees are eligible for the following benefits listed below.

• An opportunity to change the world and work with some of the smartest and most talented experts from different fields
• Growth potential; we rapidly advance team members who have an outsized impact
• Excellent medical, dental, and vision insurance through a PPO plan
• Paid holidays
• Meals provided
• Equity (RSUs) *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded
• 401(k) plan *Interns initially excluded until they work 1,000 hours
• Parental leave *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded
• Flexible time off *Temporary Employees & Interns excluded