---
title: 'Character Artist at Human Computer Lab'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/character-artist-human-computer-lab-san-francisco-26j4s69r8bva'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-04'
---

# Character Artist at Human Computer Lab

- **Company:** Human Computer Lab
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** hybrid
- **Posted:** 2026-08-03
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-04
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/human-computer-lab/e0af1893-09d0-4304-bf5a-e8deee6031de

## Job description

Human Computer Lab is a research lab building character robots that feel alive and responsive. Our first robot, LeLamp, explores a new category of consumer robotics where everyday objects become interactive and help us reshape our attachment to technology.

Our goal is to push the frontier of human-robot interaction by making technology more legible, emotionally intuitive, and human-centered. We are building the foundation for a new generation of robots designed for everyday environments.

## WHAT TO EXPECT

We're looking for a character artist to help define how LeLamp looks, moves, and feels — the visual and expressive language that makes a robot read as alive rather than mechanical. You'll work on everything from early concept sketches and mood boards to the motion, gesture, and lighting cues that give the robot its personality, translating character intent into something the hardware and software teams can actually build and ship. This role requires tight, fast-cycling collaboration with electrical, mechanical, and software teams — character decisions here don't stay on paper, they become motor curves, timing, and light behavior. You'll work closely with the CEO and founding team to shape the character identity of LeLamp and the robots that follow.

In this role, you will:

- Create concept art, mood boards, and character studies that define LeLamp's personality and visual identity.
- Collaborate with the hardware team on form factor, silhouette, materials, and color to keep the physical design aligned with the character.
- Design expressive motion — gestures, "emotional" states, and behaviors expressed through movement, light, and sound.
- Prototype and iterate quickly, moving between sketches, renders, and physical mockups.
- Partner with robotics and software engineers to translate character intent into concrete behavior parameters (motion curves, timing, lighting cues).
- Build and maintain style guides and a character bible to keep the robot's expression consistent as the team grows.
- Review hardware and software prototypes against the character vision and give clear, actionable feedback.
- Support brand and marketing assets to keep the character consistent across every touchpoint.

You may be a good fit if you:

- Are pursuing a degree in screen-writing, animation, character design, industrial design, or a related field — or have equivalent hands-on portfolio experience.
- Have a portfolio that shows character design or expressive design work, in 2D or 3D.
- Document clearly and can explain the reasoning behind a design choice, not just the choice itself.
- Are comfortable iterating quickly, moving from rough sketch to testable prototype without waiting for a perfect brief.
- Are genuinely interested in physical products, not just screen-based or purely digital characters.

You will be a strong fit, if you:

- Have designed characters or mascots that had to work within real hardware or physical constraints, not just on a screen.
- Understand core animation principles (timing, weight, squash and stretch, anticipation) and know how to translate them into motors, servos, and lighting.
- Are comfortable collaborating directly with engineers, turning an abstract sense of "feel" into concrete specs they can build against.
- Move quickly through iteration cycles and don't wait for perfect information to make progress.
- Take ownership over your work end to end, from first sketch to a behavior that's live in the robot.
- Work well in small, collaborative teams where character, electrical, and mechanical are in constant conversation.
- Care about what the character enables: warmth, expressiveness, and the feeling that the robot is alive.

The early team becomes the DNA of the company. We set ourselves and others to a high standard, and we respond with kindness when things get hard but keep everyone accountable. This requires us to be curious, creative, and diverse in our thinking and approach.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. Studies show that women and underrepresented groups often hold back unless they meet 100% of the criteria - we don’t want that to be the reason we miss out on great talent.

## About Human Computer Lab

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Human Computer Lab is a research and experimentation lab focused on researching and building expressive robots that reshape human attachment to technology.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: Newark, Delaware, United States (with presence in Canada)
- **Founded**: Not publicly available
- **Founders**: Shahvir Sarkary (Founder, CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Robotics, Human-Computer Interaction, Research Services
- **Target customers**: B2C (early adopters, hobbyists, artists, roboticists) and potentially B2B (research partners)
- **Mission or purpose statement**: "Human–computer research and experimentation lab, focused on researching and building expressive robots."

## Products & Services
- **[LeLamp](https://www.lelamp.com/)**: An emotional and expressive robot designed to reshape human attachment to technology. Pre-orders are currently open. The product aims to make building a robot feel like assembling IKEA furniture.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total Funding – Pre-seed round led by FR8 and South Park Commons (announced September 2025)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: FR8, South Park Commons
- **Growth Signals**: Active hiring for multiple roles (Controls Engineer, ML Engineer, Electrical Engineer, Interns); growing social media presence and hosting community events (Demo Faires, artist-roboticist collectives); monthly LinkedIn follower growth of ~7.8%

## Competitive Advantages
- **Unique focus on emotional expressiveness**: LeLamp is positioned as a robot that conveys emotion and personality, differentiating it from utilitarian or industrial robots.
- **Research-driven approach**: The lab conducts human-computer research to inform robot design, blending art and engineering.
- **Accessibility ethos**: They aim to make robot building as simple as assembling IKEA furniture, lowering the barrier for entry.

## Strategic Focus
- **Current priorities**: Scaling LeLamp from pilot to production; building a community around expressive robotics; expanding the team with engineering and growth talent.
- **Direction for growth**: Continued research into springiness, damping, and life-like movement; hosting events to foster a collective of artists and roboticists.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture highlights**: Small, tight-knit team (5–6 employees) with a strong emphasis on creativity, experimentation, and joy in building robots. The lab hosts science-fair style Demo Faires and encourages cross-disciplinary collaboration.
- **Remote/hybrid/office policy**: Hybrid workspace – employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work. Offices in Newark, Delaware (US) and likely Toronto (Canada).
- **Notable perks or engineering culture**: Hands-on work with expressive robotics, opportunity to shape early product direction, exposure to cutting-edge HCI research, and a culture that values “taste” and wholesome robot interactions.

## Sources
1. [humancomputerlab.com](https://www.humancomputerlab.com/)
2. [jobs.ashbyhq.com/human-computer-lab](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/human-computer-lab)
3. [builtin.com/company/human-computer-lab](https://builtin.com/company/human-computer-lab)
4. [linkedin.com/company/humancomputerlab](https://www.linkedin.com/company/humancomputerlab)
5. [research.humancomputerlab.com](https://research.humancomputerlab.com/)

## Other roles at Human Computer Lab

- [Intern - Industrial Designer](https://feeny.ai/job/intern-industrial-designer-human-computer-lab-san-francisco-sah410f831c9) — San Francisco, CA
- [Intern - Animator and Rigging Artist](https://feeny.ai/job/intern-animator-and-rigging-artist-human-computer-lab-san-francisco-1f9hfxwggdaj) — San Francisco, CA
- [Supply Chain Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/supply-chain-engineer-human-computer-lab-san-francisco-q0nk1qctstc9) — San Francisco, CA
- [Perception Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/perception-engineer-human-computer-lab-san-francisco-4cbh6w64pvp5) — San Francisco, CA
- [Intern - Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/intern-mechanical-engineer-human-computer-lab-san-francisco-4dq9hpk53nre) — San Francisco, CA
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