Robotics Engineer, Controls & Dynamics - GRAM : Job Details

This range is provided by GRAM. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

Base pay range

$100,000.00/yr - $200,000.00/yr

Humanity's birthright is to become galactic. GRAM is founded to serve this mission. We are a foundational AI and robotics startup, birthing the machines and intelligence necessary to solve the physical labor bottleneck preventing space industrialization.

Our first product is a general-purpose insectoid designed for work in vast swarms for operation in extreme environments. Over the coming century, our systems will build the critical infrastructure needed for humanity's expansion across the Milky Way.

Define control strategy and lead the architecture, design, and realization for our general-purpose insectoids, built for Earth's harshest environments and off-world deployment. As a founding team member in this ground-floor role, you will have significant ownership. You will solve core control system challenges such as instability, agility, state estimation, force control, and adaptation, enabling autonomous swarms in unstructured environments. We seek experienced controls engineers driven by these technical challenges.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement core control algorithms for dynamic locomotion, whole-body control, and manipulation using limbs/end-effectors.
• Develop and deploy state estimation techniques fusing multi-modal sensor data (IMU, kinematics, contact forces, vision, etc.).
• Conduct system identification and modeling of the robot dynamics to inform control design.
• Validate controller performance rigorously through simulation and physical hardware testing.
• Drive control strategy, contribute to the technology roadmap, establish best practices, and mentor team members.

Minimum Qualifications

• MS or PhD degree in Robotics, Engineering (with Controls focus), or a closely related field, or equivalent practical experience.
• 5+ years successfully developing and implementing control systems for dynamic robots, preferably legged systems.
• Strong proficiency developing and implementing control algorithms using C++ and Python.
• Deep understanding of modern control theory (e.g., nonlinear, optimal, robust, state estimation) applied to robotics.
• Experience with relevant robotics simulation environments (e.g., Gazebo, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo).

Preferred Qualifications

• PhD focused on robotics control (dynamic locomotion or manipulation).
• Shipped control systems for dynamic legged robots operating in real-world, unstructured environments.
• Expertise in whole-body control frameworks incorporating force/interaction control, especially for manipulation using limbs or dedicated end-effectors.
• Experience applying adaptive control or machine learning (e.g., RL, imitation learning) to robot control problems.
• Demonstrated success in hardware-software co-design for implementing high-performance, real-time control systems.

We welcome applications from individuals even if their background does not match every listed requirement.

Culture

Join a small, deeply technical founding team focused on a multi-generational mission. Expect high ownership, minimal hierarchy, intense collaboration, and the chance to shape our culture. Backed by visionary, long-term investors.

Compensation includes a competitive salary (benchmarked for LA-area pre-seed/seed founding roles) and substantial founding equity reflecting your early contribution and risk/reward alignment. Benefits include comprehensive health, dental, vision insurance; flexible PTO; 401(k); standard startup perks.

Seniority level

• Mid-Senior level

Employment type

• Full-time

Job function

• Engineering and Information Technology

Industries

• Defense and Space Manufacturing

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