Senior Low-Level Control Engineer
- Burnaby, BC, Canada
Full-time
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Job details
- Job type
- Full-time
- Apply by
- Posting language
- English
- Posted
Original job description
Here at Humanoid, we believe in a future where robots amplify human potential. That’s why we’ve set out on a mission to build the world’s most capable, commercially-scalable, and safe humanoid robots. We’re bringing that mission to life with HMND‑01 - our rapidly developed humanoid platform being deployed in real industrial environments - and we’re growing the team to take it even further.
About The Role
We are looking for a Senior Control Engineer to join our Controls Team in Vancouver, focusing on SW control development and integration of robotic actuators and sensors.
You will be responsible for designing, implementing, and validating joint- and actuator-level controllers that deliver high precision, responsiveness, and safety for complex robotic mechanisms.
The ideal candidate has a solid background in control theory, strong software engineering skills in C++, and comfort working across the full stack from real-time embedded control up through networking, kinematics/dynamics, and browser-based debugging tooling. You will work closely with other control and hardware engineers to model, tune, and optimize the behavior of real robots and their subsystems (i.e. limbs and end-effectors).
What You’ll Do
Low-Level Control Development
About The Role
We are looking for a Senior Control Engineer to join our Controls Team in Vancouver, focusing on SW control development and integration of robotic actuators and sensors.
You will be responsible for designing, implementing, and validating joint- and actuator-level controllers that deliver high precision, responsiveness, and safety for complex robotic mechanisms.
The ideal candidate has a solid background in control theory, strong software engineering skills in C++, and comfort working across the full stack from real-time embedded control up through networking, kinematics/dynamics, and browser-based debugging tooling. You will work closely with other control and hardware engineers to model, tune, and optimize the behavior of real robots and their subsystems (i.e. limbs and end-effectors).
What You’ll Do
Low-Level Control Development
- Tune and validate actuator - and joint-space control loops (PID, feedforward, impedance/admittance, observers, state feedback) for multi-DoF systems in ROS2.
- Work across EtherCAT/CAN and Linux networking (TCP/IP, DDS discovery, time sync) to ensure deterministic, safe real-time operation.
- Implement safety and fault-handling mechanisms for dynamic conditions.
- Build and identify models of actuators, transmissions, and mechanisms - including parallel mechanisms like differential wrists/ankles - for control design and simulation.
- Apply rigid body kinematics/dynamics and numerical IK/FK methods; work from URDF/Xacro and MJCF, interpreting mechanical drawings and geometry.
- Write real-time-safe, object-oriented C++ (lock-free structures, thread safety) for control and diagnostics.
- Design and debug multi-layer control architectures.
- Maintain CMake build/dependency tooling and Python test harnesses; build lightweight browser-based tools (HTML/JS/WebSocket) for hardware debugging.
- Integrate and calibrate a range of sensors (F/T sensors, tactile sensors, IMUs, etc.) with real-time acquisition and processing across the control stack.
- Hands-on hardware bring-up and debugging.
- Close the loop with mechanical/electronics engineers across sites on actuation requirements;
- Support hardware bring-up, calibration, and performance testing.
- M.S. or Ph.D. in Control Engineering, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or Electrical Engineering with 5+ years in robotic or mechatronic systems - equivalent practical experience counts.
- Shipped real-time-safe, object-oriented C++ control software running on real hardware, in production or a serious research programme.
- Tuned and validated controllers on physical actuators, including sensor calibration and bring-up - with a story about something that behaved nothing like the model and what you did about it.
- Debugged at the fieldbus and OS layer: EtherCAT (PDO/SDO, timing constraints) or CAN, on an RTOS or real-time Linux.
- Strong control theory foundation (linear/nonlinear control, stability, observers, state estimation, feedback/feedforward, filtering, frequency-domain analysis) applied to multi-DoF mechanisms via Jacobians, numerical IK/FK, and URDF/Xacro.
- BLDC motor control (commutation, current control, torque optimization)
- ros2_control internals (hardware interfaces, controllers, controller_manager, plugins, lifecycle nodes).
- Parallel mechanisms specifically (differential wrist, parallel ankle), robotic hands, or other multi-DoF end-effectors.
- System identification toolchains and simulation environments (MATLAB/Simulink, MuJoCo, Gazebo); MJCF.
- Experience with dynamic system modeling and simulation at the actuator and transmission level.
- Comprehensive extended health benefits starting on your first day, including fully paid medical and dental, virtual care, employee and family assistance, and worldwide emergency medical support.
- Meaningful time off to rest and recharge: 23 days of annual leave (accrued), 15 days of paid sick leave, and paid company holidays.
- Paid end-of-year shutdown: annual company-wide holiday closure spanning Christmas through New Year’s Day.
- Competitive equity: stock options with meaningful upside as we scale.
- Free daily catered lunch, snacks, and drinks in‑office.
- Collaboration with top‑tier engineers, researchers, and product experts in AI and robotics.
- Freedom to influence the product and own key initiatives.
More about this job
Responsibilities
Develop, tune, and validate low-level actuator and joint controllers for humanoid robots, including control loops, safety mechanisms, system models, and sensor integration. Build and debug real-time C++ control software and integrated hardware systems, collaborating with mechanical and electronics engineers on bring-up, calibration, and performance testing.
Requirements
Requires a master’s or doctoral degree in a relevant engineering field, or equivalent practical experience, and at least five years working with robotic or mechatronic systems. Candidates should have shipped real-time C++ control software on hardware, tuned physical actuators, debugged EtherCAT or CAN at the fieldbus and operating-system layers, and applied control theory to multi-degree-of-freedom mechanisms.
Skills
- Control Theory
- Real-Time C++
- Robotics
- Actuator Control
- Joint-Space Control
- ROS 2
- EtherCAT
- CAN
- Linux Networking
- Kinematics And Dynamics
- System Identification
- Sensor Integration And Calibration
- Real-Time Systems
- CMake
- Python Testing
- Hardware Debugging
Benefits
- Extended Health Benefits
- Medical Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Virtual Care
- Employee And Family Assistance
- Worldwide Emergency Medical Support
- Annual Leave
- Paid Sick Leave
- Paid Company Holidays
- Paid Year-End Shutdown
- Stock Options
- Catered Lunch
- Snacks And Drinks
Visa sponsorship
Not detected in the job text
Categories
- Engineering
- Technology
- Software
- Science & Research
- Manufacturing
Keywords
- C++
- ROS 2
- EtherCAT
- CAN
- TCP/IP
- DDS
- Linux Networking
- Real-Time Linux
- RTOS
- PID Control
- Feedforward Control
- Impedance Control
- Admittance Control
- State Feedback
- Observers
- System Identification
- Rigid Body Kinematics
- Inverse Kinematics
- Forward Kinematics
- URDF
- Xacro
- MJCF
- BLDC Motor Control
- ros2_control
- MATLAB/Simulink
- MuJoCo
- Gazebo
- CMake
- Python
- WebSocket