Robotics Software Engineer, Manipulation

Department: Persona AI

Location: Pensacola, FL or Houston, TX

Employment Type: FullTime

Persona AI is developing and commercializing rugged, multi-purpose humanoid robots that perform real work. Persona’s founding team has a decades-long history in humanoid robotics, bionics, and product development delivering robust hardware that has touched the stars, worked miles below the surface of the ocean, and even roamed Disney Parks. Our mission is focused squarely on shipping beautiful, reliable products at massive scale, while building a customer-focused team to achieve these aims.

We're looking for exceptional people who dream big, thrive on challenges, and love seeing their designs come to life. We are primarily interested in candidates who have shipped products in the fields of autonomy, robotics, consumer products, medical devices, automotive, or aerospace. We also value advanced degrees and deep expertise.

As an inaugural engineer at Persona, you will have an incredible opportunity to shape the design of Persona’s humanoid robots, while also helping set the culture of the company. If you're passionate about cutting-edge technology and want to be part of a world-class team we'd love to hear from you.

Your Role:

• Design and implement advanced, dexterous manipulation algorithms for humanoid robots with high DOF and multi-fingered hands.  

• Develop and optimize the manipulation pipeline, encompassing perception, grasping, trajectory optimization, motion planning, and control. Tackle complex tasks such as precise grasping, dual-arm manipulation, and in-hand object manipulation.

• Implement robust control strategies for precise and dexterous manipulation, including force/motion control and visual/tactile servoing. 

• Integrate the manipulation pipeline with the humanoid robot's whole-body controller and contribute to loco-manipulation development.

• Develop digital-twins of the manipulation scenes for algorithm development. Utilize simulators such as MuJoCo and Isaac Sim.

• Conduct rigorous testing in both simulated and real-world environments. 

• Work closely with the machine learning team to help train and deploy models for advanced manipulation tasks. 

• Stay informed about the latest research and advancements in manipulation, leveraging both traditional methods and deep learning-based approaches.

We’re Looking For:

• BS, MS, or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.

• 7+ years of experience (5+ with advanced degree) in robotics with a strong emphasis on control and manipulation of robotics/humanoid arms.

• Strong background in motion planning, control theory, and optimization.

• Demonstrated expertise in implementing advanced manipulation algorithms for tasks such as pick-and-place, bin picking, door opening, etc.

• Proficiency in C++, Python, and relevant robotics libraries (e.g., MoveIt!, Drake, OpenRAVE).

• Experience with trajectory optimization libraries (e.g., IPOPT, SNOPT, qpOASES).

• Proficiency with modern deep learning techniques for manipulation. 

• Experience with computer vision algorithms, sensors, point clouds, segmentation and object detection.

• Familiar with ROS, LCM, or other middleware for robotic systems.

Preferred or Bonus Qualifications:

• Experience in developing algorithms for contact modeling and force/torque estimation with a focus on tactile sensing and feedback for dexterous tasks.

• Experience with machine learning for dexterous manipulation, including learning-based grasp strategies, behavior cloning and reinforcement learning.

• Publications in top-tier robotics conferences focusing on dexterous manipulation.

• Experience in a humanoid robot startup environment.

Why join Persona AI?

• You'll shape technology that's redefining the possibilities of robotics and human interaction.

• Work alongside passionate teammates who value diversity, creativity, and continuous learning.

• Enjoy full access to advanced prototyping tools, labs, and the freedom to experiment and innovate.

• We offer competitive compensation, excellent benefits, flexible work environment, and equity opportunities.

Persona AI embraces diversity and equal opportunity in a serious way. We are committed to building a team that represents a variety of backgrounds, perspectives, and skills. We believe the more inclusive we are, the better our work will be.