Staff Robotics Engineer- Spot Manipulation

Boston Dynamics • Waltham, MA

5d

About The Position

Do you have a passion for applying state-of-the-art controls and kinematic planning to solve real-world manipulation problems? As a Staff Robotics Engineer on the Spot Manipulation team, you will play a pivotal role in tackling some of the most challenging physical interaction problems in mobile robotics. Your role will encompass a broad range of responsibilities across the manipulation stack, including low-level arm control, force dynamics, inverse kinematics, and path planning. Success in this position requires a blend of deep technical expertise, innovation, empathy for customer needs, and collaborative teamwork within a dynamic, multidisciplinary environment.

Requirements

• Master's degree (or equivalent experience) in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 3+ years of experience deploying controls and manipulation software on real-world hardware systems.
• High proficiency in C++ programming.
• Deep expertise in rigid-body dynamics, inverse kinematics, and classical control systems (e.g., impedance/force control, operational space control).
• Strong analytical, spatial reasoning, and hardware debugging skills.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with kinematic path planning and trajectory optimization.
• Background in rigid-body simulation and Python.
• Exposure to modern learning-based techniques for manipulation (e.g., RL, visual policy learning/VLAs).
• PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development of novel control algorithms to enhance Spot’s arm manipulation, grasping, and physical interaction capabilities.
• Conduct thorough hardware testing and debugging using our in-house Spot fleet.
• Produce highly reliable, maintainable, and easily testable production C++ code.
• Serve as a senior technical contributor, driving architectural decisions across the arm control stack.
• Facilitate design reviews and foster collaborative problem-solving with cross-functional engineering teams.

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• 401(k)
• paid time off
• annual bonus structure

What This Job Offers

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