Robotics Engineer
About the Role
A 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 For
Must-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.
Location
This is a full-time, on-site role based in San Francisco, California, USA. Candidates must be willing to work from the San Francisco office.