# Control Systems Software Engineer, Robotics

**Company:** [OpenAI](https://hotfix.jobs/companies/openai)
**Location:** San Francisco, CA
**Role:** Embedded Engineering
**Salary:** $380k – $460k/yr
**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
**Posted:** 2026-09-08

> 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.

## Job Description

## 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

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