About the RoleA Y Combinator-backed humanoid robotics startup is looking for a
Robotics Engineer to join a small, high-ownership engineering team in San Francisco. You'll build autonomy software - perception, locomotion, and interaction - that makes humanoid robots genuinely useful and reliable in real-world deployments. You'll also advise robot manufacturers on sensor placement, hardware interfaces, and operational design. Expect hands-on work with cutting-edge (and expensive) hardware, close collaboration with a tight-knit team, and direct impact on what ships to customers.
What You'll Do- Develop autonomy software for humanoid robots and advise manufacturers on sensor placement, hardware interfaces, and operational design.
- Work hands-on with high-cost robotics hardware in real-world settings.
- Iterate on software deployed directly to customers' robots in live environments.
- Implement and improve camera-based 3D perception, including detection, tracking, gesture and body language understanding, and speaker identification.
- Improve locomotion for safe walking in public environments.
- Collaborate with animators to make robot movement, body language, and gestures more fluid and natural.
- Deploy and maintain onboard C++20 and offboard Python 3.14 code on humanoid robot platforms upfit with custom hardware.
What We're Looking ForMust-haves:- 3+ years of professional robotics engineering experience delivering autonomous robotic systems.
- Background in a real-world robotics domain - humanoids, self-driving vehicles, drones, off-road robotics, or similar.
- Strong hands-on experience with C++ (C++20) or Rust.
- Proven ability to ship robotics products into real-world environments.
- Comfortable working with and debugging hardware at the systems level.
- High ownership mindset - you drive features end-to-end.
Strong pluses:- Experience deploying software on humanoid robot platforms (e.g., Unitree G1 or similar) with custom hardware.
- Camera-based 3D perception: detection, tracking, gesture recognition, body language understanding, and/or speaker identification.
- Experience iterating software in live customer deployments.
- Python offboard software development experience.
- Experience with sensor placement and hardware interfacing in robot system design.
Compensation & Benefits- Salary: $150,000 - $225,000 USD annually, depending on experience.
- Work authorization / visa sponsorship is available.
LocationThis is a
full-time, on-site role based in
San Francisco, California, USA. Candidates must be willing to work from the San Francisco office.
