---
title: 'Motion Planning and Controls Engineer at Maven Robotics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/motion-planning-and-controls-engineer-maven-robotics-san-fransisco-bay-area-zjjb4rsb0hrf'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-08'
---

# Motion Planning and Controls Engineer at Maven Robotics

- **Company:** Maven Robotics
- **Location:** San Fransisco Bay Area California, United States
- **Posted:** 2024-10-02
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08
- **Apply:** https://boards.greenhouse.io/mavenrobotics/jobs/4139590008?gh_jid=4139590008

## Job description

Company Overview

Maven Robotics is building the world’s leading general-purpose AI robots.

We are currently operating in stealth and are growing the world’s best team in AI robotics. We are looking for self-starters that are the world’s best in their field, who can innovate from a deep understanding of the fundamentals, and who share our values of unwavering truth seeking and integrity, humility, curiosity, and relentless determination.

## Role Description

We are looking to recruit an exceptional Motion Planning & Controls Engineer to develop the software that brings our robot hardware to life, implementing planning and control algorithms that provide purposeful, performant, safe, reliable, and beautiful coordinated motion.

In this role you will:

- Cover the entire software stack that governs robot motion, from optimization-based motion planning and control for an overactuated autonomous system, down to individual motor torque control (and everywhere in between).
- Utilize deep expertise in and intuition for complex, high degree-of-freedom electromechanical systems.
- Employ a true multi-disciplinary mindset, bridging mechanical, electrical, software, and systems engineering domains to solve real-world problems.
- Interface with perception, intelligence, simulation, and platform software systems in designing thoughtful functional architectures that ensure world-class overall robot system performance.
- Have an unrelenting drive to achieve exceptional motion quality via continual test, measurement, analysis, and improvement.

## Qualifications

Must-have:

- MS or PhD in engineering, mathematics, computer science or a related discipline.
- Experience in optimization-based motion planning and control algorithms such as Model Predictive Control.
- Experience in control, estimation, modeling, and analysis of complex. multi-degree-of-freedom electromechanical systems, including forward/inverse kinematics, forward/inverse dynamics, and task/joint space control.
- Practical experience with motor servo control (position/velocity/torque control) architectures and tuning.
- Proficiency in Python and C++ programming, using up-to-date software development practices and tooling.
- Self-starter attitude with strong ability to identify problems, prioritize them, then plan and execute working solutions.
- Enthusiasm for working in a fast paced startup environment and eagerness to support the team on a variety of topics.

Nice-to-have:

- Familiarity with ground vehicle localization, mapping, and state estimation techniques (e.g. SLAM, Kalman filtering).
- Familiarity with robotic simulation software frameworks/environments.
- Familiarity with modern approaches to robotic manipulation, including state-of-the-art reinforcement learning (RL) and imitation learning (IL) approaches and their application to real-world robots.
- Knowledge of brushless motor current control (e.g. field-oriented control).
- Familiarity with functional safety (FuSa) concepts.

## About Maven Robotics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Maven Robotics is building the world's leading general-purpose AI robots, starting with an industrial robot that combines strength, dexterity, mobility, and reliable physical AI to unlock productivity across manufacturing and logistics.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed round raised in September 2024 with 3 investors)
- **Headquarters**: Santa Clara, California, United States (with presence in Germany)
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Hamza Derbas (Co-Founder & CEO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Robotics Engineering / Industrial Automation / AI Robotics
- **Target customers**: Large global manufacturing and logistics organizations, with a cost-efficient design that also makes automation accessible to businesses of every scale (SMB to Enterprise).
- **Mission**: "We believe the future of technology holds incredible promise, with many kinds of robots unlocking productivity, enhancing creativity, and improving life for humans everywhere. Our first step is to tackle real-world industry challenges, proving value and scalability to establish the foundation for a truly brighter future."

## Products & Services
- **General-purpose industrial robot (prototype)**: A hardware/software/AI system purpose-built for industry, combining strength, adaptive dexterity, fluid mobility, and the most reliable physical AI to work safely alongside people. Designed to be cost-efficient for businesses of all scales.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding amount not publicly available (Seed round with 3 investors, September 2024)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Not named in available sources; the company states they are "working with some of the largest global manufacturing and logistics organizations."
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew 52.4% year-over-year to 28 employees (as of mid-2025) [linkedin.com]
  - High-profile talent sourcing: alumni from Apple (9), Tesla (1), Ford, Aptiv, Caterpillar, and others [linkedin.com]
  - Active hiring across 14+ roles as of July 2025: robotic AI, ML perception, manipulation, motion planning, embedded software, mechanical and electrical engineering, Data Collection Operator [mavenrobotics.ai]

## Competitive Advantages
- **First-principles, customer-focused approach** – the company prioritizes solving real industrial pain points before generalizing, ensuring near-term traction
- **Small, elite team** – composed of engineers and scientists with deep experience from top tech and robotics companies (Apple, Tesla, Ford, Intuitive Surgical, etc.)
- **Cost-efficiency** – the robot is designed to be affordable enough for SMBs, not just large enterprises, widening the addressable market
- **Full-stack robotics** – in-house capabilities in hardware design (actuators, mechanisms), embedded systems, AI/ML (perception, manipulation, foundation models), motion planning, and simulation

## Strategic Focus
- **Near-term**: Prove value and scalability in industrial manufacturing and logistics through customer deployments; ship the first generation robot
- **Long-term**: Use the industrial foundation to build general-purpose robots that can tackle diverse real-world challenges, ultimately "unlocking human potential through intelligent robotics"

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Described as a small team of engineers and scientists with "bold ambition, relentless curiosity, and belief in unlocking human potential through intelligent robotics." Emphasis on inventing, creating, and innovating from Silicon Valley.
- **Work model**: On-site or in-office workspace at the Santa Clara, CA headquarters. BuiltIn lists offices as "In-Office or Remote" but also states employees work from physical offices; typical time on-site is not specified. The careers page implies hands-on hardware/software work that likely requires presence. [builtin.com]
- **Notable perks/engineering culture**: Deep technical challenges across AI, perception, controls, embedded, mechanical, and electrical engineering. The team includes world-class experts from Apple, Tesla, Ford, etc. Opportunities to shape a product from prototype to deployment. Open roles include robotic AI, ML engineering, motion planning, embedded software, and hardware engineering.
- **Growth trajectory**: Rapidly growing startup (52% YoY headcount increase) with strong investor interest and a clear industrial go-to-market strategy.

## Sources
1. [mavenrobotics.ai](https://www.mavenrobotics.ai/)
2. [mavenrobotics.ai/join-us](https://www.mavenrobotics.ai/join-us)
3. [builtin.com](https://builtin.com/company/maven-robotics)
4. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/maven-robotics)
5. [craft.co](https://craft.co/maven-robotics)

## Other roles at Maven Robotics

- [Robot System Testing Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robot-system-testing-engineer-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-area-california-c3gq4w3ad5eg) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States
- [Robotic System Integration Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotic-system-integration-engineer-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-area-h5a1q2h8t9x4) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States
- [Robot Field Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robot-field-engineer-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-area-california-snmz665ffkcn) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States
- [Robot Autonomy Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robot-autonomy-engineer-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-area-california-6jscrk7znyzj) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States
- [Modeling and Simulation Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/modeling-and-simulation-engineer-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-area-1t3thxfx1x72) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States
- [Lead Fleet Operations Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-fleet-operations-software-engineer-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-area-msrbbqrrhw7a) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States
- [ML Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/ml-infrastructure-engineer-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-area-california-htzaxk4sntfz) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States
- [Robot Field Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robot-field-engineer-maven-robotics-stockton-1q7t89rtmn08) — Stockton, CA
- [Data Collection Operator](https://feeny.ai/job/data-collection-operator-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-area-california-ppkrgnq30g77) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States
- [Embedded Software Engineer - Real-Time Linux](https://feeny.ai/job/embedded-software-engineer-real-time-linux-maven-robotics-san-francisco-bay-eekemkqp7mat) — San Francisco Bay Area California, United States