Stealth robotics startup (YC S26) is hiring principal engineers (Palo Alto)
🚀 Opportunity: Principal Engineers for Stealth Robotics Venture (YC S26)
An ambitious, stealth-mode robotics startup—currently part of the Y Combinator S26 cohort—is seeking world-class Principal Engineers to join their founding team in Palo Alto, California.
"We aren't just building a product; we are architecting the future of autonomous physical interaction. We need pioneers who can bridge the gap between theoretical AI and tangible, real-world robotic deployment."
🛠 The Mission & Technical Vision
The company is focused on developing the next generation of robotic systems. This involves a complex interplay between high-level intelligence and low-level precision.
The System Architecture
The following diagram illustrates the conceptual flow of the technology stack the new hires will influence:
The Mathematical Foundation
Engineers will be dealing with complex dynamics, often involving equations such as the general form of robot dynamics: Where represents the joint torques, is the inertia matrix, and is the gravity vector.
📋 Role Overview
We are looking for individuals who can operate at the intersection of Hardware, Software, and AI.
| Feature | Expectation |
|---|---|
| Seniority | Principal / Staff Level |
| Location | 📍 Palo Alto (On-site) |
| Focus | End-to-end System Architecture |
| Equity | Significant Founding-Team Stake |
Key Responsibilities
- Lead the design and implementation of robust robotic frameworks.
- Optimize real-time performance using
C++andPython. - Integrate cutting-edge LLMs/VLMs into physical control loops.
- Mentor junior engineers as the team scales rapidly.
🎯 Candidate Profile
We are looking for "10x" engineers who are tired of maintaining legacy corporate codebases and want to build something from scratch.
Required Expertise:
- Deep Robotics Knowledge: Proficiency in
ROS2,MuJoCo, orPyBullet. - AI/ML Mastery: Experience with Reinforcement Learning (RL) or Transformer-based architectures.
- Hardware Fluency: Ability to work closely with electrical and mechanical engineers to iterate on prototypes.
- Proven Track Record: A history of shipping complex physical products.
Example Technical Challenge
You should be comfortable writing high-performance code similar to this snippet for motor control:
// Simplified PID Control Loop for Joint Actuation
double computeControlSignal(double setpoint, double measured_value) {
double error = setpoint - measured_value;
integral += error * dt;
double derivative = (error - prev_error) / dt;
return (Kp * error) + (Ki * integral) + (Kd * derivative);
}
🌟 Why Join Now?
Imagine building the systems that will redefine labor and automation.
- High Impact: You will be a primary architect of the company's technical DNA.
- Elite Peer Group: Work alongside YC-backed founders and top-tier engineers.
- Resource Rich: Access to the best hardware and compute resources available.
🚀 How to Apply
If you are ready to leave the comfort of a Big Tech role for a high-stakes, high-reward venture, follow these steps:
- Update your CV/Portfolio to highlight physical systems you've built.
- Prepare a brief summary of your most challenging technical "win."
- Reach out via the official application channel.
Note: This is a strictly on-site role in Palo Alto to facilitate the rapid hardware iteration cycles required for stealth-stage development.