Robotics Kinematics Engineer II

Relativity Space•Long Beach, CA

6d•$124,000 - $186,000

About The Position

Relativity Space is seeking a Robotics Kinematics Engineer to join the Robotics team at Horizon. This role involves developing and owning a crucial backbone for their software infrastructure related to kinematics and calibration. The ideal candidate will have broad technical skills, a balance between theoretical and hands-on mindset, thrive in cross-functional environments, enjoy owning full projects from design to deployment, and be comfortable navigating ambiguity in a fast-moving R&D setting. The engineer will develop advanced kinematics algorithms for robotic systems (6+ DoF), including forward/inverse kinematics and redundancy resolution, optimized for real-time performance. They will also own and maintain the kinematics library shared across multiple robotics software products and develop and maintain calibration tools and methodologies supporting a wide range of robot calibration workflows. The role requires serving as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for robot kinematics, motion modeling, and multi-axis synchronization.

Requirements

BS required; MS preferred in Robotics Engineering, Control Systems Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field.
3+ years of experience developing kinematics algorithms for both underactuated and redundant robotic systems.
Strong expertise in robot kinematic modeling and calibration methodologies using industrial metrology and localization hardware (Leica, OptiTrack, etc)
High proficiency in C++, Linux, and modern software engineering practices; comfortable developing in Python.
Experience designing modular, extensible software architectures that support diverse robot kinematics and configurations.
Experience with ROS and open-source robotics libraries.

Nice To Haves

Experience with multi-robot coordination and synchronization.
Experience with mobile manipulators.
Experience developing software for real-time robotic systems.
PhD in Robotics, Control Systems, or a related technical field.

Responsibilities

Develop advanced kinematics algorithms for robotic systems (6+ DoF), including forward/inverse kinematics and redundancy resolution, optimized for real-time performance.
Own and maintain the kinematics library shared across multiple robotics software products.
Develop and maintain calibration tools and methodologies supporting a wide range of robot calibration workflows.
Serve as the Subject Matter Expert (SME) for robot kinematics, motion modeling, and multi-axis synchronization.