Robotics Controls Engineers
Motion control, state estimation, dynamics and kinematics, MPC, legged locomotion, manipulation and whole-body control, safety-critical systems.
Robotics & physical AI recruitment · USA
We help venture-backed robotics and physical AI companies hire the engineers who design, control, simulate and deploy intelligent machines.
Recruiting across humanoids, robot foundation models, warehouse automation, industrial robotics and autonomous systems.
$23B+
raised by robotics startups in 2026, by August
2–3 weeks
typical time to a shortlist
3–4
engineers per shortlist, each with a written view
The market
A large share of that money now sits with small teams making their first critical engineering hires. The constraint isn't funding or conviction. It's the number of engineers who have taken a robot from simulation to reliable deployment, and who are open to doing it again.
That group is small, mostly employed at companies you'd recognise, and rarely applying to job adverts. Finding them takes market knowledge and a technical conversation, which is what this desk exists to provide.
$23B+
raised by robotics startups in 2026 by early August, already close to the whole of 2025.
Source: Crunchbase News, August 2026
69%
of disclosed physical AI capital went to North American companies, and seed and Series A rounds made up half of all deals.
Source: New Market Pitch, July 2026
The physical AI stack
Most robotics searches go wrong at the boundaries: between controls and robot learning, or between perception and planning. We scope the layer first, then find the person.
05
Robot foundation models, vision-language-action (VLA) models, imitation and reinforcement learning, teleoperation and robot data pipelines.
04
Perception, sensor fusion, SLAM and localisation, motion planning, navigation and behaviour systems.
03
Motion control, state estimation, model predictive control, whole-body control, legged locomotion and manipulation.
02
Power electronics, motor drives, PCB design, embedded firmware, real-time systems and hardware bring-up.
01
Robot mechanical design, actuators and drivetrains, structures, thermal, mechatronics and design for manufacture.
Across every layer: simulation and sim-to-real, robotics software and infrastructure, and the technical leaders who hold it together.
What we do
A controls engineer for a quadruped is not a controls engineer for a manipulator. A simulation engineer building sim-to-real pipelines for reinforcement learning is not the person who will validate your mechanical assemblies. We start with the hardware, the stack and the roadmap, then work outwards.
Who exists for your specific problem, where they sit, what they're building and what would move them.
Passive engineers respond to a credible technical conversation about an interesting problem. That's the whole approach.
Every candidate is assessed on what they've built, what broke, what they learned and what they want next, before they reach you.
Three or four viable people, each with a written view of their strengths and trade-offs, usually within two to three weeks.
If a role isn't hirable as written, or the pay doesn't match the market, we say so at the start rather than six weeks in.
Disciplines
From Members of Technical Staff to Heads of Hardware and Autonomy, across seed to Series B robotics and physical AI companies.
Motion control, state estimation, dynamics and kinematics, MPC, legged locomotion, manipulation and whole-body control, safety-critical systems.
Robot mechanical design, actuators and drivetrains, structures, thermal management, mechatronics, DFM and DFA, test engineering.
Power electronics, motor drives, PCB design, sensor integration, embedded firmware, real-time systems, hardware bring-up.
Computer vision, sensor fusion, SLAM and localisation, 3D perception, motion planning, navigation and behaviour systems.
Physics simulation, sim-to-real transfer, synthetic data generation, reinforcement and imitation learning, large-scale validation.
Vision-language-action models, robot foundation models, teleoperation and data collection, robot data infrastructure.
ROS 2 and middleware, onboard compute, fleet management, robot-to-cloud data pipelines, deployment, OTA and reliability.
Founding engineers, Members of Technical Staff, Heads of Hardware and Autonomy, VPs of Engineering: the hires that set direction for everything after.
Live searches
Member of Technical Staff roles across the stack. Engineers in these areas: we'd like to talk, confidentially.
Live
Robot mechanical design from concept through prototype.
Live
Control systems that make hardware behave in the real world.
Live
Power, electronics and integration for robotic systems.
Live
Simulation environments and sim-to-real for robot learning.
For robotics & physical AI engineers
Most of the engineers we speak to aren't looking. They take the call because it's a real conversation about the work. Here's what you get when you work with us.
01
Founding and Member of Technical Staff roles at venture-backed robotics and physical AI companies, many of them never advertised.
02
We talk about your stack, what you've built and what broke along the way. Not keywords on a CV.
03
The team, the technical challenge, funding and runway, pay and equity, as clearly as we can get them, before your first interview.
04
We represent a small number of engineers and put them in front of the teams that fit. No CV spraying, and nothing goes anywhere without your say-so.
05
Market context on pay and equity, help weighing competing offers, and an honest answer if a role isn't right for you.
06
Your search stays private. We never share your details with a company without your permission.
Not looking right now? That's when the best conversations start.
Locations
US robotics talent concentrates in a handful of hubs, and each behaves differently on pay, relocation and notice periods. We recruit across all of them, and we'll be candid about whether relocation is realistic for the level and salary on offer.
Legged robotics, manipulation, warehouse automation and a deep academic pipeline.
Humanoids, robot foundation models, autonomous vehicles and physical AI research.
Physical AI, robot learning, and applied AI talent crossing into robotics.
Autonomy, perception and the Carnegie Mellon robotics ecosystem.
Humanoid and industrial robotics, with strong mechanical and manufacturing depth.
Warehouse and logistics robotics, embedded and cloud robotics infrastructure.
Aerospace, defence, drones and autonomous systems.
Process
01
Thirty minutes on the robot, the stack, the gap in the team and the first six months of the role.
02
A clear view of the talent available for that role, and how your pay and seniority expectations sit against the market.
03
Personal outreach to the engineers who fit, built around your technical problem.
04
Structured interviews covering technical substance, motivation, timing, location and visa status.
05
Three to four candidates, with a written summary for each.
06
Process management, counter-offer handling and onboarding support. Hardware hires move on longer cycles than software, and we plan for that.
Who we work with
Typically under 200 people, where each hire changes what the team can build.
Humanoid & general-purpose robotics
Robot foundation models & embodied AI
Warehouse & logistics automation
Manufacturing & industrial robotics
Agriculture, construction & field robotics
Autonomous vehicles, drones & defence
Surgical, medical & lab automation
Simulation, teleoperation & robotics infrastructure
Why us
One specialist desk across AI and robotics engineering, building a long-term market map rather than reacting to briefs.
Real conversations about your architecture, which is why strong, passive engineers reply.
Fewer candidates, better matched. We'd rather send three people and place one.
We work to your build cycle and your board timeline.
"His deep understanding of our hiring needs and ability to translate those into action resulted in the successful onboarding of some of our most successful hires."
Sat Gainda · Top 100 IT Leader, AI / GenAI
"We were scaling rapidly and needed top-tier talent to support our growth. He stepped in and delivered, consistently identifying high-calibre senior technology candidates."
Enda Diggins · Managing Director
Fees
Simple, published, agreed in writing before any work begins. Every placement carries a replacement guarantee.
25%
Of first-year base salary, payable on placement. Suited to roles with an existing internal pipeline where you want more market coverage.
30%
Of first-year base salary. An exclusive, prioritised search with a committed timeline and a full market map. Suited to founding engineers, technical leadership and roles that have been open too long.
FAQ
We map the market by discipline and approach engineers directly with a technical conversation about the problem your team is solving. Most of the people we place weren't actively searching when we first spoke to them.
Our fees are 25% of first-year base salary on a contingency basis and 30% on a retained basis, with a replacement guarantee on every placement.
Typically two to three weeks to a shortlist and four to eight weeks to an offer, depending on discipline and seniority. Founding and leadership hires usually take longer.
Robotics engineering covers the machine itself: mechanical design, electronics, controls and embedded software. Physical AI focuses on the intelligence layer: robot foundation models, vision-language-action systems, and imitation and reinforcement learning. Most teams need both, and defining the boundary before a role goes live is one of the most useful things you can do.
Yes, and it's one of the most valuable parts of the scoping call. Clarifying the line between controls, motion planning and robot learning before a role goes live saves months of wasted process.
Our core market is the US, across the major robotics hubs. We run international searches where a role genuinely requires it.
We establish status and requirements up front so there are no surprises late in a process, and we're candid about the effect on your timeline.
Yes, if the technical problem and the equity are compelling. We'll give you an honest read on how the role will land in the market.
Continuously. If you're an engineer in robotics or physical AI, we're always happy to have a confidential conversation, whether or not you're actively looking.
Let's talk
Tell us what you're building and where the gap is. You'll get a clear read on the market, an honest view of whether the role is hirable as written, and a shortlist worth interviewing.
