Controls Engineer - Foundation.bot

About Us

Foundation is developing the future of general purpose robotics with the goal to address the labor shortage.

Our mission is to create advanced robots that can operate in complex environments, reducing human risk in conflict zones and enhancing efficiency in labor-intensive industries.

We are on the lookout for extraordinary engineers and scientists to join our team. Your previous experience in robotics isn't a prerequisite — it's your talent and determination that truly count.

We expect that many of our team members will bring diverse perspectives from various industries and fields. We are looking for individuals with a proven record of exceptional ability and a history of creating things that work.

All positions are based in San Francisco.

Our Culture

We like to be frank and honest about who we are, so that people can decide for themselves if this is a culture they resonate with. Please read more about our culture here https://foundation.bot/culture

Why We Are Hiring for This Role:

• To develop and optimize the control systems that enable precise, smooth, and safe motion in our humanoid robots.
• To bridge the gap between AI-generated action models and the robot’s physical execution by designing robust motion planning and lower-level control architectures.
• To create full-body controllers that seamlessly integrate inputs from action models with real-time feedback, ensuring high performance in complex environments.
• To ensure our robots can execute tasks reliably, from manipulation to locomotion, while maintaining stability and efficiency.
• To scale our controls stack for deployment across various robot configurations, supporting a wide range of customer applications.

What Kind of Person We Are Looking For:

• Strong background in robotics control systems, including motion planning, kinematics, and dynamics.
• Proficiency in developing full-body controllers that integrate multiple degrees of freedom (DoF).
• Experience with torque-based and position-based control strategies.
• Skilled in translating high-level action outputs (e.g., from AI models) into low-level commands such as angle, torque, and force.
• Familiarity with optimization techniques for trajectory planning and real-time feedback integration.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as C++ and Python.
• Experience with robotics middleware (e.g., ROS2) and real-time control systems.
• Strong understanding of numerical methods and computational algorithms for control.
• Ability to analyze complex motion requirements and design control algorithms to meet them.
• Comfortable troubleshooting control issues in a physical robot and iterating quickly to improve performance.
• Comfortable working with hardware-in-the-loop systems and integrating controls with physical robots.
• Collaborates effectively with AI researchers, mechanical engineers, and electrical engineers to ensure seamless system integration.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in robotics controls, motion planning, or a similar field.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field. A PhD is a plus.
• Experience with real-time operating systems and control frameworks is highly desirable.

Benefits

We provide market standard benefits (health, vision, dental, 401k, etc.). Join us for the culture and the mission, not for the benefits.

Salary

The annual compensation is expected to be between $80,000 - $1,000,000. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.