Gradient Robotics
Controls Engineer
San Francisco · On-site · Full-time · Posted Jul 22, 2026
- Experience
- 3+ years
About the job
Own robot motion control from system modeling and hardware selection through controller design, tuning, testing, and field issue resolution.
What you'll do
- Model and identify robot axes and arms, diagnose performance limitations, and resolve field issues.
- Design and tune motion and force-control loops; select and commission motors, drives, sensors, and fieldbus modes.
- Develop performance tests and iterate on controller revisions based on results.
What they ask for
- 3+ years' experience in controls engineering on physical electromechanical systems, with control loops tuned on real hardware.
- Strong control theory, system identification, and serial robot arm kinematics and dynamics skills.
- Expertise debugging nonlinearities and bandwidth limitations and explaining root causes.
- Fluency in Python and ability to write and review real-time control code in C, C++, or Rust; able to work on-site in San Francisco 5 days/week (6 days/week during crunch time).
Nice to have
- Experience with force/impedance control or contact-rich robotic manipulation.
- Knowledge of precision motion technologies; familiarity with EtherCAT or CANopen, CSP/CST modes, and real-time Linux environments.
Tools
Python, C, C++, Rust, Yaskawa, Kollmorgen, Elmo, Beckhoff
Model-written summary · the original posting is authoritative