---
title: 'Staff Controls Software Engineer at Humanoid'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/staff-controls-software-engineer-humanoid-london-ram4ky811v6x'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-17'
---

# Staff Controls Software Engineer at Humanoid

- **Company:** [Humanoid](https://feeny.ai/companies/humanoid)
- **Location:** London, United Kingdom
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-04-16
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-17
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid/0d29a583-4d96-4210-85ac-96da998c67d3/application

**Skills:** C++, Python, Control Theory, Robot Kinematics, Robot Dynamics, Real-time Control Systems, Git, CI/CD, Automated Testing, Software Architecture, Version Control, Debugging, Profiling, Performance Optimization, ROS2, Real-time Linux, RTOS, Eigen, Pinocchio, Placo

> Lead the development, integration, and maintenance of production-grade control software for humanoid robotic systems. Design real-time control architectures, implement middleware interfaces, and ensure deterministic, safe, and validated performance for industrial pilots.

## Job description

Here at Humanoid, we believe in a future where robots amplify human potential. That’s why we’ve set out on a mission to build the world’s most capable, commercially-scalable, and safe humanoid robots. We’re bringing that mission to life with HMND‑01 - our rapidly developed humanoid platform being deployed in real industrial environments - and we’re growing the team to take it even further.

## About The Role

We're hiring a Staff Controls Software Engineer to join our Controls team based in London. We are seeking an experienced Staff Controls Software Engineer to lead the development, integration, and maintenance of our production-grade control software for humanoid robotic systems. This role sits at the intersection of controls and software engineering - focused on turning advanced control strategies into robust, maintainable, and validated production systems. You’ll be responsible for ensuring that the control stack powering our robots is deterministic, safe, tested, and deployable at scale. You bring both deep robotics control experience (10 years in robotic system development) and strong software engineering discipline — designing architectures that perform reliably in real-time environments.

## What You’ll Do

- Design and maintain modular, real-time control architectures supporting locomotion, manipulation, and teleoperation.
- Implement high-performance control loops and middleware interfaces for deterministic, safe operation.
- Industrialize algorithms, ensuring production readiness, maintainability, and performance.
- Establish clear software boundaries and interfaces between motion planning, control, and hardware layers.
- Translate research prototypes into scalable, maintainable, and testable control software.
- Apply modern software development practices (CI/CD, code reviews, testing frameworks, documentation).
- Define reliability, latency, and safety metrics and enforce them throughout the control stack.
- Lead the integration of real-time control software on embedded or Linux-based systems, ensuring consistent behavior across hardware targets.
- Develop automated testing frameworks (simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, regression, and performance testing).
- Drive release and version management of the control stack, ensuring stability across branches and deployments.
- Conduct profiling, benchmarking, and performance validation on robotic hardware.
- Define release protocols to ensure reproducibility and verifiable system behavior.
- Implement software-based fail-safes, watchdogs, and redundancy mechanisms for safety-critical control paths.
- Work closely with hardware and safety teams to ensure fault detection, graceful degradation, and safe state transitions.
- Lead by example through hands-on coding, code reviews, and system-level debugging.
- Mentor engineers on control software best practices, testing methodologies, and performance optimization.
- Contribute to the long-term control software roadmap, guiding architecture evolution and quality standards.

## What We're Looking For

- B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Robotics, Control, Computer Engineering, or a related field.
- 10+ years of experience developing robotics control software for real-time systems.
- Proven expertise in C++ (modern standards) and Python for software implementation, testing, and automation.
- Strong background in control theory, robot kinematics & dynamics, and real-time control systems.
- Experience in deploying and validating control software both in simulation and on physical robotic platforms.
- Solid understanding of software architecture, version control (Git), CI/CD pipelines, and automated testing.
- Excellent debugging, profiling, and system performance optimization skills.
- Track record of shipping production-quality robotics software, not research prototypes.
- Proven experience managing software lifecycle, including release management and cross-team integration.

Nice to have:

- Experience with ROS2, real-time Linux, or RTOS environments.
- Familiarity with relevant tools and libraries like Eigen, Pinocchio, Placo, PyTorch, MuJoCo, etc.
- Familiarity with safety-critical systems, redundancy, and failover mechanisms.
- Background in whole-body control, actuator coordination, or real-time trajectory execution.
- Experience in Joint/Cartesian Impedance and force control
- Strong communication and leadership skills, with the ability to influence architecture decisions and engineering culture.
- Experience in learning-based control methods (e.g. RL, imitation learning)

## What We Offer

- Meaningful time off to rest and recharge: 23 days of annual leave (accrued), 15 days of paid sick leave, and paid company holidays.
- Fully funded private healthcare for UK employees, with broad provider access, virtual and in‑person care, and strong mental health and serious illness support.
- Equity included–we believe builders should share in what they build.
- Pension scheme with a total 8% contribution (5% employee, 3% employer) on full earnings.
- Free daily breakfast, catered lunch, and snacks in‑office.
- Collaboration with top‑tier engineers, researchers, and product experts in AI and robotics.
- Freedom to influence the product and own key initiatives.

## About Humanoid

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Humanoid builds commercially scalable, safe, and reliable humanoid robots designed to automate labor-intensive industrial tasks across warehousing, logistics, manufacturing, and retail.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Seed stage)
- **Headquarters**: London, United Kingdom (HQ) with offices in Cambridge, MA, USA; Burnaby, BC, Canada; and additional presence in Germany, Georgia, and the UAE.
- **Founded**: 2024
- **Founders**: Artem Sokolov (CEO & Founder)

## Core Business
- **Primary industry/industries**: Robotics Engineering, Humanoid Robotics, Industrial Automation, Artificial Intelligence
- **Target customers**: B2B / Enterprise — industrial sectors including retail, e-commerce, third-party logistics (3PL), manufacturing, and automotive.
- **Mission or purpose statement**: “Empowering humanity by building the most reliable, safe, and helpful humanoid robots.” The company aims to free people from repetitive, dangerous, and tedious work, allowing them to engage in more creative and meaningful activities.

## Products & Services
- **HMND 01 Alpha Wheeled**: A robust industrial-grade wheeled humanoid robot designed for material handling, pick-and-place, and visual inspection in warehouses and factories. Prioritizes reliability, low total cost of ownership (TCO), and minimal maintenance.
- **HMND 01 Alpha Bipedal**: A bipedal humanoid robot for more complex environments requiring advanced locomotion, navigation of confined spaces, and higher dexterity. Features human-level manipulation speeds and walking speeds up to 1.5 m/s.
- **KinetIQ**: An AI framework for orchestrating fleets of humanoid robots across both wheeled and bipedal platforms, enabling centralized control and task optimization.
- **Modular Garments**: Exchangeable protective “garments” that allow HMND 01 robots to adapt to different use cases and environments, minimizing contamination and collision damage while enabling functional customization.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not disclosed.
- **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$50 million** (Seed round closed October 2025, with 1 lead investor).
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Strategic partners include leading global companies in AI, cloud computing, and research. Specific partner names are not publicly listed on the website, but the company highlights collaboration with commercial partners to scale deployment.
- **Growth Signals**:
  - Headcount grew **139.2% YoY** to ~182 employees (as of mid-2026), with 65 active job postings.
  - Opened offices in London, Boston, and Vancouver within its first year.
  - Team includes talent recruited from major robotics and AI firms: Sanctuary AI, Boston Dynamics, Dyson, Arrival, Ocado Technology, 1X, Wayve, Apptronik, and Brain Corp.
  - Focus on initial target sectors representing a combined $12 trillion in annual payroll and 250 million workers.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Human-centric design**: The world is already designed for humans, so humanoids can seamlessly integrate into existing environments without costly redesign.
- **Modularity**: HMND 01’s hardware/software modularity enables multi-task performance and easy repurposing, reducing the need for specialized robots.
- **Reliability & low TCO**: Prioritizing hardware and software stability over raw performance to deliver industrial-grade robustness suitable for mass commercialization.
- **KinetIQ fleet orchestration AI**: Proprietary framework for managing mixed fleets of wheeled and bipedal robots, differentiating from competitors focused on single-form-factor robots.
- **Experienced leadership**: CEO Artem Sokolov previously scaled a family manufacturing business into a billion-dollar enterprise (EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021). The CTO, Jarad Cannon, has extensive experience translating research into deployment-ready robotics systems.

## Strategic Focus
- **Near-term (2027)**: Deploy robots for physical tasks in manufacturing, warehousing, logistics, and retail — tackling repetitive, dangerous, and tedious manual work.
- **Medium-term (2029)**: Expand into the service sector, targeting the 70-80% of the global economy that will be services, with a focus on assisting an aging population (1.4B people over 60).
- **Long-term (2031+)**: Enter households as assistants and companions, potentially revolutionizing everyday life across 3.5 billion homes.
- **Core strategy**: Partner with leading global companies in AI, cloud, and research for technology development, and with commercial partners for scaled deployment. The company believes the humanoid TAM will reach $38 billion by 2035 and $1 trillion by 2050.

## Why Work Here
- **High-growth environment**: Company grew headcount by 139% in a single year, indicating rapid scaling and opportunity for career advancement. 65+ open roles suggest strong hiring momentum.
- **Talent from top robotics firms**: Team includes alumni from Boston Dynamics, Sanctuary AI, Dyson, Ocado Technology, Arrival, Wayve, and others — offering a deep learning and collaboration environment.
- **Technical focus**: Engineering and technical roles represent 38% of the workforce, with senior-level hires at 23% of the team. The company emphasizes hardware, AI, machine learning, and control systems.
- **Mission-driven**: Clear purpose to automate undesirable, unsafe, and repetitive work — appealing to candidates who want to make a tangible societal impact.
- **Global presence**: Offices in London (HQ), Cambridge (USA), and Burnaby (Canada), plus operations in 16 countries — offering potential for international mobility and remote collaboration.
- **Innovation culture**: Described as a place where engineers and researchers “move from demo to deployment” and “not just in the lab.” The CTO emphasizes building systems that perform in the real world from day one.
- **Office/Hybrid policy**: Not explicitly stated, but the company has physical offices in three countries and a distributed team across 16 nations — likely supports hybrid/remote with in-office collaboration for engineering roles.

## Sources
1. [thehumanoid.ai](https://thehumanoid.ai/)
2. [thehumanoid.ai/about-us/](https://thehumanoid.ai/about-us/)
3. [thehumanoid.ai/team/](https://thehumanoid.ai/team/)
4. [thehumanoid.ai/careers/](https://thehumanoid.ai/careers/)
5. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/humanoidai)
6. [Jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/humanoid)

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