Humanoid · 8 hours ago
Safe RL Control Engineer
Boston, MA
Full-time
Hybrid
Senior Level
5+ years expHumanoid is the first AI and robotics company in the UK, creating advanced humanoid robots. The Control Engineer will contribute to the development of whole-body control software, ensuring safety and robustness in robotic behaviors while collaborating with global teams.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)ManufacturingRobotics
Responsibilities
Design, implement, and extend whole-body control frameworks that coordinate multiple robot subsystems (locomotion, manipulation, teleoperation)
Develop and maintain mid-level controllers that translate motion objectives into coherent, stable, real-time control actions
Ensure controllers are modular, deterministic, and extensible, supporting both classical and learning-based control strategies
Architect and tune low-level controllers for balanced performance, supporting compliant behaviors for learning tasks and precise fallback modes for safety
Develop and enforce safety mechanisms within WBC to manage contact, stability, and recovery during combined locomotion and manipulation (loco-manipulation) behaviors
Develop and integrate RL-based controllers and policies within the WBC architecture
Define clear, robust interfaces between classical controllers and learned components, enabling smooth blending and fallback behaviors
Collaborate with the Imitation Learning and Deployment teams to ensure compatibility of runtime systems and deployment pipelines – while maintaining full ownership of control and WBC components
Shape RL action spaces to promote safe exploration, avoiding extreme behaviors while enabling smooth policy execution
Work with deployment teams to align RL outputs with hardware realities, using simulation penalties and transfer techniques for reliable rollout
Collaborate daily with control engineers across Boston, London, and Vancouver, aligning control strategies, architecture, and codebase
Benchmark actuator properties (like torque limits and delays) to refine simulation models, closing the sim2real gap
Validate controllers in simulation and hardware environments, iterating closely with system-level testing teams
Participate in design reviews, profiling, and performance analysis for high-impact control modules
Qualification
Required
M.S. or Ph.D. in Robotics, Control, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
5+ years of experience developing control software for complex robotic systems (humanoids, legged platforms, or articulated manipulators)
Strong theoretical and practical background in classical control (model-based control, observers, optimal control, QP-based control)
Proven ability to design and implement real-time control algorithms in C++ or Python
Deep understanding of robot dynamics, kinematics, and control optimization
Experience validating control architectures both in simulation and on physical hardware
Preferred
Experience developing or integrating reinforcement-learning-based control policies for high-DOF systems
Familiarity with whole-body control frameworks, including task hierarchies, optimization-based control, and constraint handling
Background in real-time or distributed control systems, including ROS2 or real-time middleware
Strong software engineering skills: modular design, benchmarking, testing, and performance profiling
Demonstrated ability to collaborate across geographically distributed teams and disciplines
Benefits
Competitive salary plus participation in our Stock Option Plan.
Paid vacation with adjustments based on your location to comply with local labor laws.
Travel opportunities to our London and Vancouver offices.
Comprehensive health insurance coverage.
Freedom to influence the product and own key initiatives.
Collaboration with top‑tier engineers, researchers, and product experts in AI and robotics.
Startup culture prioritising speed, transparency, and minimal bureaucracy.
Company
Humanoid
Humanoid is the first AI and robotics company in the UK creating the world’s leading, commercially scalable, and safe humanoid robots
51-200 employees
Funding
Current Stage
Growth StageLeadership Team
Artem Sokolov
Founder
Recent News
2025-12-05
2025-11-29
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