Robotics Engineer

Department: Engineering

Location: San Francisco

Employment Type: FullTime

About the Role

A seed-stage, Y Combinator–backed humanoid robotics software company is looking for a Robotics Engineer to join a tight-knit, three-person engineering team in San Francisco. This company builds the "social brain" for humanoid robots — software that enables natural, intelligent human-robot interaction, including perception, emotional awareness, on-device decision-making, and autonomous locomotion.

You'll work hands-on with cutting-edge humanoid hardware, develop real-world autonomy software, and advise robot manufacturers on sensor placement and hardware design. This is a high-ownership, high-impact role where your work ships directly to customers.

What You'll Do

• Develop autonomy software for humanoid robots deployed in real-world, customer-facing environments.

• Advise robot manufacturers on sensor placement, hardware interfaces, and operational design for next-generation humanoids.

• Work hands-on with premium humanoid hardware (robots that cost more than most cars).

• Implement and improve camera-based 3D perception, including object detection, tracking, gesture recognition, body language understanding, and speaker identification.

• Improve locomotion systems 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 platforms upfit with custom hardware.

• Iterate rapidly on software deployed to customer robots in live, real-world settings.

What We're Looking For

Must-haves:

• 3+ years of professional robotics engineering experience delivering autonomous robotic systems.

• Background in a relevant robotics domain — humanoids, self-driving vehicles, drones, off-road robotics, or similar.

• Strong hands-on experience with C++ (C++20) or Rust.

• Proven track record shipping robotics products into real-world deployments.

• Comfortable working with, debugging, and interfacing with physical hardware.

• High ownership mindset — you take full responsibility for the features you build.

Strongly preferred:

• Experience deploying software on humanoid robot platforms (e.g., Unitree G1 or equivalent) with custom hardware integrations.

• Camera-based 3D perception: detection, tracking, gesture recognition, body language understanding, and/or speaker identification.

• Experience iterating on software deployed directly to customer robots in production environments.

• Locomotion engineering for navigating safely in public or unstructured environments.

Nice to have:

• Python offboard software development experience.

• Experience with sensor placement and hardware interfacing in robot system design.

• Collaboration experience with animators or motion designers on robot behavior.

Compensation & Benefits

• Salary: $150,000 – $225,000 USD annually, depending on experience.

• Work visa sponsorship is available.

• Opportunity for significant early-stage equity and outsized impact at a seed-stage company.

Location

This is a full-time, on-site role based in San Francisco, California. Candidates must be willing to work from the San Francisco office. Work authorization sponsorship is available for qualified candidates.