Controls Engineer
San FranciscoFull-timePosted 9mo ago
About the role
As a Controls Engineer, you will design and implement the algorithms that make PI’s robots behave predictably, smoothly, and safely under varied and uncertain conditions.
Responsibilities
- Design & implement control algorithms: PID, LQR, MPC, inverse dynamics, and feedforward controllers.
- Build & validate models: Create and refine physical and inverse dynamics models for simulation and control design.
- Develop real-time loops: Write and optimize runtime control loops, including neural-network-driven control.
- Own robotic bring-up: Integrate and tune arms, mobile bases, teleop systems, and full-body platforms.
- Debug complex system behaviors: Diagnose and resolve hardware/software/runtime issues using first-principles reasoning.
- Build sensor/actuator subsystems: Work with embedded systems, drivers, and communication protocols (CAN, SPI, I2C, Ethernet).
- Partner cross-functionally: Work with researchers, platform engineers, and operators to ensure stable, predictable real-world behavior.
- Support R&D: Prototype configurations, collect structured datasets, and iterate directly with researchers.
Qualifications
- Deep understanding of model-based control algorithms and inverse dynamics
- Ability to validate control approaches in simulation and translate them to real hardware
- Proficiency in Python and C++, including firmware-adjacent development
- Skill in writing and tuning real-time control loops
- Hands-on capability to debug electromechanical systems end-to-end
- Familiarity with embedded communication protocols (CAN, SPI, I2C, Ethernet)
- Clear communication with researchers, hardware teams, and operators
- A structured, collaborative approach to solving complex system issues
Skills
Required:Model-based controlSimulation validationPythonC++
Last updated Jul 15, 2026. Interested? Apply on the company site.
About Physical Intelligence
Physical Intelligence (π)
Physical Intelligence is bringing general-purpose AI into the physical world.
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