{"schemaVersion":"jobsearcher.job.v1","id":"02122ad5d2b117cba8bb364c","url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/02122ad5d2b117cba8bb364c","canonicalUrl":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/02122ad5d2b117cba8bb364c","title":"Robotics Systems Architect","description":"Who we are:\nFormic is on a mission to reshape American manufacturing by making automation accessible to every factory. As labor constraints rise, costs increase, and global competition intensifies, automation is no longer optional for manufacturers that want to stay competitive.\nWe deliver automation through a Robotics-as-a-Service model that combines industrial robotics, proprietary software, and full-service support into a single, integrated solution. By removing the traditional barriers of cost, complexity, and risk, we enable manufacturers to deploy automation quickly and realize measurable gains in throughput, safety, and operational efficiency without large upfront capital investment.\nBacked by leading investors including Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, and Mitsubishi HC Capital North America, Formic is scaling rapidly and building the foundation for a new era of high-performance, Made in America production.\nAbout the team:\nThe Software Engineering Team builds and operates the systems that power Formic's Robotics-as-a-Service platform. The team develops the monitoring, provisioning, and data infrastructure that enables real-time visibility across a growing fleet of deployed industrial robotic systems. Engineering ensures systems are observable, resilient, and remotely diagnosable at scale by building production-grade edge and cloud systems that support reliable data collection, remote troubleshooting, live video streaming, and continuous system improvement. This work directly impacts fleet uptime, service efficiency, and customer outcomes.\nWithin Engineering, Formic is launching a brand-new Advanced Robotics Team focused on building next-generation intelligent robotic systems designed to operate in real industrial environments. This team will develop wheeled humanoids and advanced mobile manipulation platforms, pushing beyond classical robotics stacks into modern embodied AI systems.\nFormic is uniquely positioned to do this. We already operate hundreds of deployed robotic systems and maintain production-grade deployment, monitoring, and fleet infrastructure across real manufacturing customers. This provides what most humanoid startups do not: continuous real-world data, production testing environments, and a clear path from research to scaled deployment.\nThis is not a demo lab. We are building learning-driven robotic systems that operate daily in real factories.\nAbout this role:\nAs a Robotics Systems Architect, you will define and lead the control architecture for next-generation intelligent robotic platforms, including wheeled humanoids and advanced mobile manipulators. You will own the system-level design of whole-body control, actuator interfaces, and deterministic execution across the robotics stack.\nThis role sits at the core of hardware, controls, and embodied intelligence. You will work across software, AI, and hardware domains to ensure our robotic systems are safe, performant, and deployable in real industrial environments. Your work will directly influence how learning-driven systems translate policy outputs into reliable, real-world motion.\nIn this role you will:\nArchitect and lead development of whole-body control systems for advanced robotic platforms including humanoids\nDesign real-time control interfaces and hardware abstraction layers\nDefine actuator interfaces and enforce hardware performance specifications with external manufacturing partners\nDevelop and optimize kinematics, dynamics, and coordinated motion control systems\nOwn safety architecture and deterministic execution across the robotics stack\nCollaborate with AI and perception teams to define state representations and control APIs\nValidate hardware performance including torque bandwidth, latency, and thermal behavior\nLead system-level integration, testing, and debugging across hardware and software boundaries\nDrive architectural decisions that balance research flexibility with production reliability\nEnsure systems are deployable, serviceable, and scalable in real-world industrial environments\nWhat makes you a great fit:\n8+ years of experience building complex robotic systems\nStrong background in control systems, rigid body dynamics, and robot kinematics\nExperience working with mobile manipulators, humanoids, or high-DOF robotic platforms\nDeep understanding of actuator systems, torque control, and motor performance characteristics\nExperience with ROS2, real-time Linux environments, and modern C++\nProven experience shipping physical robotic systems beyond research prototypes\nComfort working with external hardware vendors and defining detailed technical specifications\nStrong system-level debugging skills across mechanical, electrical, and software domains\nAbility to operate at both architectural and implementation depth\nLocated in or willing to relocate to the San Francisco, CA (Oakland) area and able to work in a hybrid environment (3+ days per week)\nNice to have:\nExperience with whole-body control frameworks and optimization-based control\nFamiliarity with model predictive control (MPC) or hierarchical control architectures\nExperience integrating learning-based policies with classical control stacks\nBackground in safety-critical or industrial robotics environments\nWhat we look for:\nWe're building this company from the ground up, and every person we hire has an outsized impact on our culture, performance, and trajectory. While each team member brings unique strengths and perspectives, we look for people who align with our Operating Principles and embody them in action. If this sounds like you, Formic may be the right place for you!\nFearless Optimism: You make bold bets and default optimistic. You believe in the mission, aren't paralyzed by risk, and fear inaction more than failure. You see ambiguity as opportunity and bring energy to building what doesn't yet exist.\nCreate the Magic: You absorb complexity so customers don't have to. Whether your customer is external or internal, you focus on delivering experiences that are clear, fast, value-added, and outcome-driven. You don't say \"not my job.\" You make things work.\nToday, Not Tomorrow: You have a bias to action. You close the loop. You take extreme ownership. You understand that speed compounds, and you don't confuse activity with results.\nSeek Truth: You think from first principles. You value data over ego and strong opinions loosely held. You're willing to challenge assumptions, including your own, in pursuit of the best answer.\nMade of Rubber: You are resolute and adaptable. When things break or priorities shift, you rebound stronger. You treat setbacks as learning moments and move forward with grit.\nOne Formic: You operate without silos. You practice radical helpfulness, document clearly, and make clean handoffs. You assume positive intent and prioritize team success over individual credit.\nEqual Opportunity Employment:\nFormic is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, family or parental status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. All employment decisions are based on a person's merit, business needs, and role requirements. If you require further accommodations or have questions regarding accessibility of our roles, please reach out to careers@formic.co.\nAI Use:\nAt Formic, fairness and transparency are at the heart of our hiring process. We use AI-powered tools in some interviews to help our teams evaluate candidate responses, but all final hiring decisions are made by humans. You can learn more about how AI is used in our recruitment process by reviewing our AI Hiring Disclosure linked here.","company":"Formic","rawCompany":"formic","city":"Millbrae","state":"CA","isRemote":false,"isActive":false,"createdAt":"2026-04-11T03:06:07.030Z","occupations":[{"code":"17-2199.08","title":"Robotics Engineers","slug":"robotics-engineers"},{"code":"15-1299.08","title":"Computer Systems Engineers/Architects","slug":"computer-systems-engineers-architects"},{"code":"17-2199.05","title":"Mechatronics Engineers","slug":"mechatronics-engineers"}],"industries":[{"code":"333248","title":"All Other Industrial Machinery Manufacturing","slug":"all-other-industrial-machinery-manufacturing"},{"code":"541512","title":"Computer Systems Design Services","slug":"computer-systems-design-services"},{"code":"541330","title":"Engineering Services","slug":"engineering-services"}],"jobPosting":{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"JobPosting","title":"Robotics Systems Architect","description":"Who we are:\nFormic is on a mission to reshape American manufacturing by making automation accessible to every factory. As labor constraints rise, costs increase, and global competition intensifies, automation is no longer optional for manufacturers that want to stay competitive.\nWe deliver automation through a Robotics-as-a-Service model that combines industrial robotics, proprietary software, and full-service support into a single, integrated solution. By removing the traditional barriers of cost, complexity, and risk, we enable manufacturers to deploy automation quickly and realize measurable gains in throughput, safety, and operational efficiency without large upfront capital investment.\nBacked by leading investors including Lux Capital, Initialized Capital, Blackhorn Ventures, and Mitsubishi HC Capital North America, Formic is scaling rapidly and building the foundation for a new era of high-performance, Made in America production.\nAbout the team:\nThe Software Engineering Team builds and operates the systems that power Formic's Robotics-as-a-Service platform. The team develops the monitoring, provisioning, and data infrastructure that enables real-time visibility across a growing fleet of deployed industrial robotic systems. Engineering ensures systems are observable, resilient, and remotely diagnosable at scale by building production-grade edge and cloud systems that support reliable data collection, remote troubleshooting, live video streaming, and continuous system improvement. This work directly impacts fleet uptime, service efficiency, and customer outcomes.\nWithin Engineering, Formic is launching a brand-new Advanced Robotics Team focused on building next-generation intelligent robotic systems designed to operate in real industrial environments. This team will develop wheeled humanoids and advanced mobile manipulation platforms, pushing beyond classical robotics stacks into modern embodied AI systems.\nFormic is uniquely positioned to do this. We already operate hundreds of deployed robotic systems and maintain production-grade deployment, monitoring, and fleet infrastructure across real manufacturing customers. This provides what most humanoid startups do not: continuous real-world data, production testing environments, and a clear path from research to scaled deployment.\nThis is not a demo lab. We are building learning-driven robotic systems that operate daily in real factories.\nAbout this role:\nAs a Robotics Systems Architect, you will define and lead the control architecture for next-generation intelligent robotic platforms, including wheeled humanoids and advanced mobile manipulators. You will own the system-level design of whole-body control, actuator interfaces, and deterministic execution across the robotics stack.\nThis role sits at the core of hardware, controls, and embodied intelligence. You will work across software, AI, and hardware domains to ensure our robotic systems are safe, performant, and deployable in real industrial environments. Your work will directly influence how learning-driven systems translate policy outputs into reliable, real-world motion.\nIn this role you will:\nArchitect and lead development of whole-body control systems for advanced robotic platforms including humanoids\nDesign real-time control interfaces and hardware abstraction layers\nDefine actuator interfaces and enforce hardware performance specifications with external manufacturing partners\nDevelop and optimize kinematics, dynamics, and coordinated motion control systems\nOwn safety architecture and deterministic execution across the robotics stack\nCollaborate with AI and perception teams to define state representations and control APIs\nValidate hardware performance including torque bandwidth, latency, and thermal behavior\nLead system-level integration, testing, and debugging across hardware and software boundaries\nDrive architectural decisions that balance research flexibility with production reliability\nEnsure systems are deployable, serviceable, and scalable in real-world industrial environments\nWhat makes you a great fit:\n8+ years of experience building complex robotic systems\nStrong background in control systems, rigid body dynamics, and robot kinematics\nExperience working with mobile manipulators, humanoids, or high-DOF robotic platforms\nDeep understanding of actuator systems, torque control, and motor performance characteristics\nExperience with ROS2, real-time Linux environments, and modern C++\nProven experience shipping physical robotic systems beyond research prototypes\nComfort working with external hardware vendors and defining detailed technical specifications\nStrong system-level debugging skills across mechanical, electrical, and software domains\nAbility to operate at both architectural and implementation depth\nLocated in or willing to relocate to the San Francisco, CA (Oakland) area and able to work in a hybrid environment (3+ days per week)\nNice to have:\nExperience with whole-body control frameworks and optimization-based control\nFamiliarity with model predictive control (MPC) or hierarchical control architectures\nExperience integrating learning-based policies with classical control stacks\nBackground in safety-critical or industrial robotics environments\nWhat we look for:\nWe're building this company from the ground up, and every person we hire has an outsized impact on our culture, performance, and trajectory. While each team member brings unique strengths and perspectives, we look for people who align with our Operating Principles and embody them in action. If this sounds like you, Formic may be the right place for you!\nFearless Optimism: You make bold bets and default optimistic. You believe in the mission, aren't paralyzed by risk, and fear inaction more than failure. You see ambiguity as opportunity and bring energy to building what doesn't yet exist.\nCreate the Magic: You absorb complexity so customers don't have to. Whether your customer is external or internal, you focus on delivering experiences that are clear, fast, value-added, and outcome-driven. You don't say \"not my job.\" You make things work.\nToday, Not Tomorrow: You have a bias to action. You close the loop. You take extreme ownership. You understand that speed compounds, and you don't confuse activity with results.\nSeek Truth: You think from first principles. You value data over ego and strong opinions loosely held. You're willing to challenge assumptions, including your own, in pursuit of the best answer.\nMade of Rubber: You are resolute and adaptable. When things break or priorities shift, you rebound stronger. You treat setbacks as learning moments and move forward with grit.\nOne Formic: You operate without silos. You practice radical helpfulness, document clearly, and make clean handoffs. You assume positive intent and prioritize team success over individual credit.\nEqual Opportunity Employment:\nFormic is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion or religious creed, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, marital status, family or parental status, disability, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. All employment decisions are based on a person's merit, business needs, and role requirements. If you require further accommodations or have questions regarding accessibility of our roles, please reach out to careers@formic.co.\nAI Use:\nAt Formic, fairness and transparency are at the heart of our hiring process. We use AI-powered tools in some interviews to help our teams evaluate candidate responses, but all final hiring decisions are made by humans. You can learn more about how AI is used in our recruitment process by reviewing our AI Hiring Disclosure linked here.","datePosted":"2026-04-11T03:06:07.030Z","dateModified":"2026-04-11T03:06:07.030Z","hiringOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Formic","sameAs":"https://jobsearcher.com"},"jobLocation":{"@type":"Place","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","addressLocality":"Millbrae","addressRegion":"CA","addressCountry":"US"}},"identifier":{"@type":"PropertyValue","name":"JobSearcher","value":"02122ad5d2b117cba8bb364c"},"url":"https://jobsearcher.com/jobs/02122ad5d2b117cba8bb364c"}}