Engineer

Foundation Job Posting

Foundation is developing the future of general purpose robotics with the goal to address the labor shortage. Our mission is to create advanced robots that can operate in complex environments, reducing human risk in conflict zones and enhancing efficiency in labor-intensive industries. We are on the lookout for extraordinary engineers and scientists to join our team. We expect that many of our team members will bring diverse perspectives from various industries and fields. We are looking for individuals with a proven record of exceptional ability and a history of creating things that work. All positions are based in San Francisco or Munich.

Our Culture

We like to be frank and honest about who we are, so that people can decide for themselves if this is a culture they resonate with.

Who Should Join:

• You like working in person with a team in San Francisco, California.
• You deeply believe that this is the most important mission for humanity and needs to happen yesterday.
• You are highly technical - regardless of the role you are in. We are building technology; you need to understand technology well.
• You care about aesthetics and design inside out. If it's not the best product ever, it bothers you, and you need to "fix" it.
• You don't need someone to motivate you nor give you tasks; you get things done.

Why We Are Hiring for This Role:

• Innovate vision and control systems: Design and implement machine-learning pipelines for perception and control—applying modern pre-trained models and fine-tuning for robotics.
• Advance sim-to-real transfer
• Integrate ML with control loops: Build feedback-aware perception modules that work within real-time control and embedded pipelines.
• Optimize for edge compute: Develop models and algorithms optimized for deployment on constrained hardware (robot SOCs, embedded GPUs).
• Deep hardware engagement: Interface ML pipelines in sensor–actor loops; responsible for lab setup, characterization, and performance tuning.
• Collaborate on system design: Work cross-functionally—safety, perception, and motion planning teams—to architect control strategies for high-DoF robots.
• Publish, mentor, learn: Contribute to technical documentation, present findings internally, and guide junior engineers.

What Kind of Person We Are Looking For:

• Strong ML background: Proven experience with modern ML architectures—LVMs, transformers, reinforcement learning, CNNs, …; hands-on work with pre-trained models and fine-tuning for real-world applications.
• Simulation & robotics stack: Deep familiarity with ROS 2, Isaac Sim, MuJoCo; able to orchestrate end-to-end pipelines.
• Python + frameworks: Expert-level Python; hands-on experience with PyTorch, JAX, plus proficiency in C++/embedded languages.
• Sim-to-real expertise: Demonstrated ability to bridge simulated prototypes to real-world systems.
• Hardware-first mindset: Experience integrating ML models with sensors, cameras, motors, and embedded compute; comfortable tweaking hardware and firmware.
• Edge deployment skills: Experience optimizing models and deploying on edge devices.
• Educational & experiential basis: MSc or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Controls, or equivalent. 5+ years in robotics/ML, with at least 3 years in vision/control applications.

Nice-to-Have

• Experience with active perception and vision–guided manipulation pipelines.
• Background in realtime operating systems (RTOS) or embedded Linux.
• Publications or open-source contributions in robotics or ML.
• Familiarity with multi-agent or human-robot interaction systems.

We provide market standard benefits (health, vision, dental, 401k, etc.). Join us for the culture and the mission, not for the benefits. The annual compensation is expected to be between $100,000 - $1,000,000. Exact compensation may vary based on skills, experience, and location.