Senior Robotics Engineer (Robotics & AI)

Location: Zurich, Switzerland; onsite

Company

hirify.global is an early-stage deep-tech robotics and AI startup developing dexterous robotic hands and automation solutions for tedious manual labor and labor shortages.

What you will do

• Develop, deploy, and test infrastructure for teleoperation and autonomous operation of dexterous robotic systems.
• Engineer low-latency, reliable middleware connecting VLA/VAM AI models with the firmware layer.
• Design and implement deterministic control algorithms, packet scheduling, and policy translation for physical robot actions.
• Build and test middleware across multiple robot platforms while optimizing end-to-end system performance.
• Develop a certified, reliable, and safe real-time control stack for commercial deployment.
• Work closely with robotics and AI specialists to achieve safe and robust operation on site.

Requirements

• 5+ years of production experience building real-time robotics systems or complex control stacks.
• Strong proficiency in C++, Rust, and/or Python.
• Expertise in robot kinematics, dynamics, and modern control theory.
• Practical Linux systems programming experience, including scheduling, RTOS principles, and hardware interfaces.
• Track record of deploying highly reliable physical robotic systems in commercial settings.
• Fluent English and a Master's degree or Ph.D. in Robotics, Mechatronics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related discipline.

Nice to have

• Experience with multi-DOF manipulators and dexterous end-effectors.
• Experience with hard real-time distributed systems and industrial communication protocols such as EtherCAT, CAN, or ROS2.
• Experience with safety certification standards for robotic manipulators.
• Experience interfacing with VLA/VAM models or deploying learned policies onto physical hardware.

Culture & Benefits

• Opportunity to help shape a robotics and AI company from the ground up.
• Flat hierarchy with direct collaboration with the founders and robotics specialists.
• Inclusive environment that values diverse backgrounds, personal experiences, and perspectives.
• Work on challenging problems in dexterous robotics, physical AI, and real-world automation.