Robotics Control Engineer (Low-Level / Motor control)

Description

About AIRoA

The AI Robot Association AIRoA) is launching a groundbreaking initiative:

collecting one million hours of humanoid robot operation data with hundreds of robots, and leveraging it to train the worldʼs most powerful Vision-Language-Action VLA) models.

What makes AIRoA unique is not only the unprecedented scale of real-world data and humanoid platforms, but also our commitment to making everything open and accessible.

We are building a shared “robot data ecosystem” where datasets, trained models, and benchmarks are available to everyone.

Researchers around the world will be able to evaluate their models on standardized humanoid robots through our open evaluation platform.

Role Overview

This position is responsible for the design, implementation, and tuning of low-level control systems that convert motion commands generated by higher-level control layers into precise and reliable torque and motion for the joint actuators of humanoid and dual-arm robots.

The role primarily focuses on the layer closest to motor control, including field-oriented control (FOC) of brushless motors, current, torque, velocity, and position control loops, motor control board bring-up, sensor calibration, and the implementation of safety mechanisms.

Rather than working on high-level or meta-level control such as Motion Planning or Navigation, you will take full ownership of developing the actuator-level control firmware that forms the foundation of these systems, from prototyping through mass production.

This role supports the lowest layer of the control stack and serves as a bridge to reliably execute the motions required by the Whole-Body Control team and AI/ML team on physical robot hardware.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and tune field-oriented control (FOC) for brushless actuators, current and torque control loops based on dq transformation, and velocity and position control loops
• Bring up and debug custom motor control boards and sensors
• Develop calibration and synchronization pipelines for encoders and current/voltage measurements
• Implement actuator safety mechanisms, including overcurrent protection, overtemperature protection, watchdogs, and brownout protection
• Design control loops under real-time constraints using low-level peripherals such as timers, ADCs, PWMs, and DMA
• Implement communication interfaces such as CAN (FD) and EtherCAT, and design interfaces with higher-level software platforms
• Develop diagnostic and logging mechanisms for torque, current, temperature, error states, and other data required for fault detection during operation on physical hardware
• Collaborate with the Whole-Body Control and AI/ML teams on force and compliance control under dynamic loads
• Continuously improve control performance through motion validation and parameter tuning on physical robot hardware

Required Qualifications

• Professional experience working with robot arms, robotic hands, or humanoid robots
• At least three years of professional experience in real-time embedded software development, including microcontrollers, device drivers, and low-level library implementation
• High proficiency in C/C++, with experience implementing low-level peripherals such as timers, ADCs, PWMs, DMA, and non-volatile memory
• Practical knowledge of motor control theory, including FOC, vector control, and dq transformation, as well as experience designing and implementing current, torque, velocity, and position control loops
• Experience working with encoders and current/voltage sensors, including calibration and synchronization
• Experience implementing or debugging physical hardware using communication interfaces such as SPI, UART, CAN (FD), RS-485, and EtherCAT
• Experience implementing actuator safety mechanisms, including overcurrent protection, overtemperature protection, watchdogs, and brownout protection

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience developing and shipping motor control firmware from prototyping through mass production
• Experience controlling brushless DC motors, servo motors, or actuators
• Understanding of RTOS concepts and experience implementing RTOS-based systems
• Experience with motion control using EtherCAT, CANopen, CiA 402, or similar protocols
• Knowledge of real-time control, control-cycle design, latency reduction, and jitter reduction
• Experience with coordinated control involving the Whole-Body Control layer, including torque control and impedance/admittance control
• Experience using Python or similar tools for log analysis, test automation, and test-tool development
• Experience designing and validating control models using MATLAB, Simulink, or similar tools
• Experience using physics simulators such as MuJoCo, Isaac, or Pinocchio
• Ability to read technical documentation in English and experience communicating on technical matters with overseas vendors