Humanoid Engineer, Manipulation

FieldAI’s Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California’s robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field.

The Humanoid Engineer, Manipulation will develop, integrate, test, and improve manipulation capabilities on humanoid robots. This role sits at the intersection of robot learning, controls, perception, teleoperation, and field deployment. The engineer will translate manipulation research into robust capabilities that work on physical humanoid platforms and improve through real-world testing.

What You'll Do

• Design, implement, and evaluate humanoid manipulation and loco-manipulation behaviors on real hardware

• Integrate perception, planning, control, grasping, whole-body coordination, and task execution into deployable robot workflows

• Run hardware experiments, analyze failures, and improve manipulation reliability across diverse objects, environments, and tasks

• Partner with system integration, hardware, field application, and testing teams to move capabilities from prototype to deployment

• Support teleoperation, data collection, and human-in-the-loop workflows for improving manipulation performance

• Build tools, metrics, and evaluation protocols for manipulation success, repeatability, failure recovery, and operator usability

• Debug cross-domain issues spanning software, sensors, actuators, end-effectors, calibration, timing, and field conditions

What You Bring

• MS or PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field preferred; BS considered with a demonstrated track record of hands-on robotics work across multiple physical systems — research projects, competition robotics, or internships with daily hardware exposure

• Hands-on experience with robotic manipulation, humanoids, mobile manipulation, dexterous hands, or contact-rich robotics — must include physical hardware; simulation-only backgrounds will not be considered

• Strong foundation in kinematics, dynamics, motion planning, control, and real robot experimentation

• Experience with C++, Python, ROS/ROS2, and Linux in a real robotics codebase

• Demonstrated ability to iterate quickly from experiment to working behavior on physical hardware; comfortable running daily hardware experiments, analyzing failures, and adapting approach in real-time

• Background appropriate for a junior-to-mid engineer; fresh MS and PhD graduates welcome

What Sets You Apart

• Experience with humanoid platforms or contact-rich, dexterous manipulation systems — you've worked with robots that have hands, not just grippers

• Background in robot learning applied to physical hardware: imitation learning, reinforcement learning, or task and motion planning that you've validated on a real robot, not just in simulation

• You've taken a manipulation capability from prototype to reliable, repeatable field behavior — you know what it takes to close that gap and you've done it

• Track record of building evaluation frameworks for manipulation: test suites, metrics for success and failure, and the discipline to document and learn from what breaks

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual’s background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.

Why Join FieldAI in Irvine?

In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics’ hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models™ raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use.

You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.

Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.

We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected statu