About the role#
Foundation is building dexterous hands and fingers for an all-purpose humanoid. These systems feature 20+ degrees of freedom packed into the volume of a human hand, requiring high precision, speed, and adaptability. You will own real subsystems, write firmware that runs on hardware, and contribute directly to engineering milestones. This role is designed to provide experience in a high-impact environment by solving complex problems in impedance control, contact detection, tendon coupling, and real-time sensor fusion.
What you'll do#
- Develop and tune control loops for joint and finger-level movement.
- Write firmware that runs directly on robotic hardware.
- Use Python to simulate, prototype, and analyze controller performance before hardware deployment.
- Apply control theory to solve challenges in multi-body dynamics and kinematics.
- Work on discrete-time control systems and manage sensor pipelines.
What you'll need#
- Currently pursuing a BS or MS in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field.
- Coursework in control systems theory, including state-space representation, Bode/Nyquist analysis, stability margins, and PID design.
- Foundational knowledge of multi-body dynamics and kinematics, including the use of Jacobians.
- Exposure to control techniques such as state feedback, LQR, feedforward compensation, or impedance/admittance control.
- Understanding of sampled-data systems, discrete-time control, and the impact of sample rates on motor control loops.
- Proficiency in Python for simulation and data analysis.
- Working knowledge of C or C++ for embedded firmware, including experience with microcontrollers such as STM32, Teensy, or ESP32.
- Familiarity with a robotics framework like ROS2 for node development and system debugging.
- Experience with MATLAB/Simulink is a plus.
Location & details#
- Location: San Francisco, California
- Term: Summer 2026
- Modality: On-site
- Employment: Full-time
- Compensation: Paid
About Foundation
Foundation builds general purpose robotics. The company operates within the robotics engineering sector. It maintains a single office in San Francisco, California. Founded in 2024, the organization employs 108 people.
How to get in at Foundation
Applying early to Foundation gives you a distinct advantage because recruiters review applications before the pile grows. Intern Insider sends an instant alert the moment a role matching your target is published anywhere, so you can be among the first to submit your materials. You save time by avoiding the wait for manual job board updates. Getting your application in quickly ensures you are seen while the team is still actively building their candidate pool. Reaching out to the right person often beats applying into a general queue. Intern Insider surfaces the recruiters behind the company roles so you can contact them directly to ask about the position or a referral. This direct approach materially improves your response rates compared to standard submissions. It is a practical way to show genuine interest in the work Foundation does.
