Job Details

Controls Engineer role at Foundation. 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 looking for extraordinary engineers and scientists to join our team. Your previous experience in robotics isn't a prerequisite — your talent and determination count. Many team members bring diverse perspectives from various industries. We are looking for individuals with a proven record of exceptional ability and a history of creating things that work.

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: foundation.bot/culture

Who should join:

• You like working in person with a team in San Francisco.
• You deeply believe that this is the most important mission for humanity and needs to happen yesterday.
• You are highly technical — we are building technology; you need to understand technology well.
• You care about aesthetics and design inside out. If it's not the best product ever, it bothers you, and you need to “fix” it.
• You don't need someone to motivate you; you get things done.

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

• Strong background in robotics control systems, including motion planning, kinematics, and dynamics.
• Proficiency in developing full-body controllers that integrate multiple DoF.
• Experience with torque-based and position-based control strategies.
• Skilled in translating high-level action outputs into low-level commands (angle, torque, force).
• Familiarity with optimization techniques for trajectory planning and real-time feedback integration.
• Proficiency in 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 on physical robots and iterating quickly to improve performance.
• Experience 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. PhD is a plus.
• Experience with real-time operating systems and control frameworks is highly desirable.

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

Location: San Francisco Bay Area (san-francisco-based team). Compensation range is discussed during hiring and varies by skills, experience, and location.