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OpenAIOpenAI

Control Systems Software Engineer, Robotics

Design and implement real-time control infrastructure for intelligent, reliable robots, spanning actuators, hardware interfaces, state estimation, and whole-robot behavior. The role requires strong robotics and control fundamentals, hands-on hardware experience, and production-quality C++ or Rust development.

About the job

Responsibilities

  • Design and implement real-time control algorithms for robotic systems, including motion control, feedback loops, state estimation, actuator control, and subsystem tuning.
  • Define control architecture from low-level actuators and hardware interfaces through whole-robot behavior and policy.
  • Identify and characterize actuator, hardware, and software parameters through experimentation, testing, commissioning, and verification.
  • Implement reinforcement learning models in collaboration with machine learning engineers.
  • Integrate control logic with sensing and actuation hardware across mechanical, electrical, and software teams.
  • Inform mechanical and electrical design to maximize robot capability and flexibility.
  • Work hands-on with robots onsite, debugging behavior, tuning subsystems, running experiments, and iterating between simulation and real-world testing.

Requirements

  • Strong robotics background, including manipulators, mobile robots, or other complex physical systems.
  • Experience with actuation, control systems, robot dynamics, estimation, subsystem tuning, or whole-body motion.
  • Hands-on experience commissioning, debugging, testing, and iterating on robotic hardware.
  • Strong fundamentals in classical control, system dynamics, and estimation.
  • Exposure to learning-based or reinforcement learning approaches.
  • Ability to work across low-level actuator behavior, hardware interfaces, higher-level algorithms, and whole-robot performance.
  • Experience writing performant, production-quality software in C++ or Rust.
  • Experience with robotic hardware and simulation-to-real-world testing.

Compensation

  • Annual salary: $380,000–$460,000

Skills

Robotics, C++, Rust, Real-Time Systems, Control Systems, Classical Control, Robot Dynamics, State Estimation, Reinforcement Learning, Actuator Control, Motion Control, Simulation, Hardware Interfaces, Feedback Loops

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