Low-Level Controls Engineer

About the role

We are looking for a Controls Engineer to join our Controls Team in Vancouver, focusing on low-level controls development for robotic actuation systems. 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 and strong software engineering skills in C++. You will work closely with other controls and hardware engineers to model, tune, and optimize the behavior of real robots and their subsystems (i.e. limbs and end-effectors).

Responsibilities

• Low-level Controls Development
• Tune actuator-level control loops
• Develop and validate joint-space control loops such as impedance, admittance for multi-DoF systems in ROS2 / ROS2 Control
• Work with embedded and communication layers (e.g., EtherCAT, CAN) to ensure deterministic timing and safety.
• Apply modern control theory (PID, feedforward, observers, and state feedback) to achieve stability, performance, and robustness.
• Implement safety and fault-handling mechanisms to ensure reliable operation under dynamic conditions.
• Mechanism Modeling & System Identification
• Build accurate models of actuators, transmissions, and mechanisms to support control design and simulation.
• Perform system identification and parameter estimation to improve model fidelity and controller performance.
• Analyze system behavior using both analytical and experimental methods to refine controller design.
• Software Development & Integration
• Develop high-performance C++ code for real-time control and diagnostics.
• Develop robotic applications in ROS2 Control
• Work closely with other control layers to ensure seamless integration between low-level and mid-level control systems.
• Contribute to real-time frameworks and infrastructure for deployment and testing of control algorithms.
• Collaboration & Cross-Disciplinary Work
• Collaborate with mechanical, electronics, and control engineers across sites to define and validate actuation system requirements.
• Participate in hardware bring-up, calibration, and performance testing on physical systems.
• Support the integration of new actuators and sensor configurations into the control stack.

Requirements

• M.S. or Ph.D. in Control Engineering, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field.
• 5+ years of experience in control system design and implementation for robotic or mechatronic systems.
• Strong foundation in control theory (linear and nonlinear control, system stability, observers, and state estimation).
• Proficiency in ROS2 Control and C++ for real-time or embedded control software.
• Experience in modeling and simulation of dynamic systems.
• Track record of hands-on controller tuning and validation on hardware.
• Bonus Qualifications
• Proven experience with BLDC motor control, including commutation, current control, and torque optimization.
• Experience with multi-DoF robotic systems or robotic hands and manipulators.
• Familiarity with system identification tools and simulation environments (e.g., MATLAB/Simulink, MuJoCo, Gazebo).
• Experience with real-time communication protocols (CAN, EtherCAT) and RTOS environments.
• Knowledge of sensing and calibration techniques (encoders, torque sensors, current sensors).
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with a focus on control stability and performance.

Benefits

Additional Information

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 Alpha - our rapidly developed humanoid platform now running in real industrial pilots - and we're growing the team to take it even further.

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