Robotics Autonomy Engineer – Planning and Control - Federal (Robotics)

Location: Irvine, California, United States; on-site

Salary: $100,000–$200,000 per year, plus benefits and equity

Company

hirify.global develops risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems for robots operating in complex and unpredictable real-world environments.

What you will do

• Design, develop, and refine motion and navigation planning algorithms for narrow passages, dynamic obstacles, and complex environments.
• Build optimization-driven path and trajectory generation approaches for smooth, reliable, and efficient navigation across wheeled, legged, wheeled-legged, and humanoid platforms.
• Develop and tune control algorithms for precise trajectory tracking and stable robotic operation.
• Coordinate perception, planning, and control layers to improve real-world autonomy performance.
• Build testing pipelines from unit validation through full robot deployment, using simulation, benchmarking, and regression testing.
• Analyze telemetry, debug field-deployment issues, and deliver targeted improvements while maintaining general-case reliability.

Requirements

• PhD with 2+ years of industry or applied research experience, MS with 4+ years of relevant experience, or BS with 8+ years of relevant experience in robotics, computer science, electrical engineering, or a related field.
• Strong knowledge of motion planning, trajectory generation, and control systems.
• Experience developing algorithms for one or more robotic platforms.
• Programming proficiency in C++ and Python on Linux-based systems.
• Familiarity with OMPL, MoveIt, Nav2, ROS, or ROS 2.
• Experience with LiDAR, stereo or depth cameras, IMUs, GPS, and wheel encoders.

Nice to have

• Experience deploying autonomous systems in real-world environments.
• Background in optimization, control, or numerical methods for trajectory planning.
• Experience with learning-based or hybrid planning approaches.
• Contributions to open-source planning or control frameworks.
• Experience with safety-critical autonomy or industrial robotics.

Culture & Benefits

• Full-time on-site work in Irvine, California.
• Full benefits, equity, and generous time off.
• Opportunity to develop robotics systems deployed in unstructured environments.
• Inclusive environment focused on creativity, resilience, interdisciplinary expertise, and bold problem-solving.