What are the responsibilities and job description for the Robotics Simulation & RL Engineer position at Humanoid?
Here at Humanoid, we believe in a future where robots amplify human potential. That’s why we’ve set out on a mission to build the world’s most capable, commercially-scalable, and safe humanoid robots. We’re bringing that mission to life with HMND‑01 - our rapidly developed humanoid platform being deployed in real industrial environments - and we’re growing the team to take it even further.
About The Role
We design robots in simulation before building them in hardware.
As a Robotics Simulation & RL Engineer, you will help design and validate future generations of our robotic platforms - including bipedal and wheeled systems - using physics simulation and reinforcement learning.
You will develop tools to determine whether a robot design can perform real-world tasks before committing to hardware. Your work will directly inform robot architecture, actuator selection, sensor placement, and control strategies.
A key responsibility of this role is owning and validating the canonical robot models (URDF and simulation assets) used across simulation and control stacks.
What You’ll Do
About The Role
We design robots in simulation before building them in hardware.
As a Robotics Simulation & RL Engineer, you will help design and validate future generations of our robotic platforms - including bipedal and wheeled systems - using physics simulation and reinforcement learning.
You will develop tools to determine whether a robot design can perform real-world tasks before committing to hardware. Your work will directly inform robot architecture, actuator selection, sensor placement, and control strategies.
A key responsibility of this role is owning and validating the canonical robot models (URDF and simulation assets) used across simulation and control stacks.
What You’ll Do
- Design and evaluate new robot platforms using physics simulation
- Analyze robot capabilities including workspace, manipulability, dynamic balance, and torque limits
- Use reinforcement learning to stress-test robot designs and explore capability limits
- Own and maintain URDF models of current and future robot platforms
- Maintain the CAD → URDF → simulation pipeline
- Develop tools and benchmarks to evaluate locomotion, manipulation, and platform robustness
- Provide quantitative feedback to hardware teams on actuator sizing, joint placement, mass distribution, and sensor layout
- Collaborate with mechanical, control, and perception teams to guide platform design decisions
- M.Sc. or Ph.D. in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Control, or a related field
- Strong foundation in robot kinematics and dynamics
- Experience with robot simulation environments (MuJoCo, Isaac Sim, Gazebo, or similar)
- Experience with reinforcement learning in robotics or physics-based simulation
- Experience working with URDF or similar robot description formats
- Strong programming skills in Python and/or C
- Experience training RL locomotion or manipulation policies
- Experience with legged, humanoid, or wheeled robots;
- Experience with whole-body control or torque-controlled robots;
- Experience with simulation-driven hardware design;
- Experience building large-scale RL training pipelines.
- Comprehensive health coverage for US‑based employees, including fully paid medical, dental, and vision insurance, with virtual care and employee assistance resources.
- Meaningful time off to rest and recharge: 23 days of PTO (accrued), separate sick leave, and paid company holidays.
- 401(k) retirement plan with a 4% employer match.
- Equity included–we believe builders should share in what they build.
- Free daily catered lunch, snacks, and drinks in‑office.
- Collaboration with top‑tier engineers, researchers, and product experts in AI and robotics.
- Freedom to influence the product and own key initiatives.
Salary : $200,000 - $300,000