Advanced Robotics Controls Engineer, Frontier AI & Robotics

Amazon • San Francisco, CA

13h

About The Position

About the Role: We are seeking a highly skilled Mechatronics or Controls Engineer with deep expertise in actuation systems, low-level motor control, sensor integration and system characterization to help design, prototype, and refine high degree-of-freedom systems. You will be a core contributor in the hardware–software integration loop, ensuring that our systems meet strict performance, safety, and research requirements. This role demands a blend of rigorous engineering skill, hands-on prototyping ability, and close collaboration with AI researchers and software engineers. About the team Frontier AI & Robotics (FAR) is the team at Amazon building the next generation of embodied intelligence. FAR drives the development and implementation of advanced AI models within Amazon’s operations that enable robots to see, reason, and act on the world around them, supporting a number of different warehouse automation tasks.

Requirements

• Master’s or PhD in Controls Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field
• Strong background in actuator and control system design, including characterization and integration
• Proficiency in embedded firmware development for real-time control
• Experience in robotic system calibration and system identification
• Strong grasp of control theory, dynamics, and kinematics of robotic systems
• Experience with sensor integration (encoders, force–torque sensors, tactile, MUs)
• Proven ability to work hands-on in a fast-moving, multidisciplinary team
• Experience in automating, deploying, and supporting large-scale infrastructure
• Experience programming with at least one modern language such as Python, Ruby, Golang, Java, C++, C#, Rust
• Experience with Linux/Unix
• Experience with CI/CD pipelines build processes
• Experience with distributed systems at scale

Nice To Haves

• Experience with high-DOF robotic systems.
• Experience developing inverse kinematics (IK) solvers, kinematic calibration, and running motion simulations (e.g. MuJoCo, IsaacSim, MATLAB/Simulink).
• Ability to spec or design force/torque sensors, or develop algorithms for estimating forces from motor currents for compliance and collision handling.
• Ability to implement and tune inverse kinematics and dynamics algorithms; build and run simulations for system performance validation and motion planning
• Specify, source, or design force–torque sensing capabilities, including developing algorithms for estimating forces from motor currents. Integrate sensing into system-level control strategies for collision response, compliance, and back-drivability
• Knowledge of estimating and improving actuator back-drivability
• Knowledge of ROS/ROS 2 or similar robotic middleware.
• Experience with programming languages like C++, Python, MATLAB
• Experience with high-performance, safety-critical mechatronic systems.

Responsibilities

• Own motor & actuator selection, characterization, and integration into electromechanical subsystems to meet system-level performance specifications
• Design and tune low-level control systems, including position, velocity, torque, and impedance control loops
• Interface control systems with higher-level AI and motion-planning platforms, ensuring reliable, low-latency communication and robust operation
• Maintain and update motor control board hardware and firmware, including environments for executing control loops, reading encoders, and managing outputs
• Develop and execute SysID routines for electromechanical subsystems; design calibration procedures for sensors, actuators, and kinematic chains to ensure precision and repeatability
• Ensure actuator and control systems meet safety, robustness, and maintainability requirements for advanced robotic system operation
• Work hands-on with mechanical, electrical, and AI teams to rapidly prototype and iterate on hardware solutions

Benefits

• health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage)
• 401(k) matching
• paid time off
• parental leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees