Robotics Software Engineer, Manipulation

Persona AI Inc • Houston, TX

5d

About The Position

Persona is building humanoid robots for demanding heavy-industry environments, including shipyards, steel mills, fabrication facilities, and offshore platforms. As an inaugural engineer, the Robotics Software Engineer, Manipulation will help shape the design of Persona’s humanoid robots and contribute to the company’s culture. The role focuses on developing advanced manipulation capabilities for humanoid robots, while collaborating with the broader engineering and machine learning teams.

Requirements

• BS, MS, or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 7+ years of robotics experience, or 5+ years with an advanced degree, emphasizing control and manipulation of robotic or humanoid arms.
• Strong background in motion planning, control theory, and optimization.
• Demonstrated expertise implementing advanced manipulation algorithms for tasks such as pick-and-place, bin picking, and door opening.
• Proficiency in C++, Python, and relevant robotics libraries such as MoveIt!, Drake, or OpenRAVE.
• Experience with trajectory optimization libraries such as IPOPT, SNOPT, or qpOASES.
• Proficiency with modern deep learning techniques for manipulation.
• Experience with computer vision algorithms, sensors, point clouds, segmentation, and object detection.
• Familiarity with ROS, LCM, or other middleware for robotic systems.

Nice To Haves

• Experience developing contact modeling and force/torque estimation algorithms, especially involving tactile sensing and feedback for dexterous tasks.
• Experience with machine learning for dexterous manipulation, including learning-based grasp strategies, behavior cloning, and reinforcement learning.
• Publications in top-tier robotics conferences focused on dexterous manipulation.
• Experience in a humanoid robot startup environment.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement advanced, dexterous manipulation algorithms for high-DOF humanoid robots with multi-fingered hands.
• Develop and optimize the manipulation pipeline, including perception, grasping, trajectory optimization, motion planning, and control.
• Address complex tasks such as precise grasping, dual-arm manipulation, and in-hand object manipulation.
• Implement robust control strategies, including force/motion control and visual/tactile servoing.
• Integrate the manipulation pipeline with the humanoid robot’s whole-body controller and contribute to loco-manipulation development.
• Develop digital twins of manipulation scenes for algorithm development using simulators such as MuJoCo and Isaac Sim.
• Test systems in simulated and real-world environments.
• Work with the machine learning team to train and deploy models for advanced manipulation tasks.
• Keep informed about research and advancements in manipulation, including traditional and deep learning-based approaches.

Benefits

• Competitive compensation.
• Performance-based bonus.
• 100% employer-covered medical benefits for most healthcare plans.
• Early-stage equity.
• Competitive PTO.
• Company-wide paid winter break between December 24 and January 2.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior