Senior / Staff Robotics and Controls Engineer

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Design, implement, and verify robotic control algorithms for Capstan's catheter-based surgical platform — kinematics, dynamics, teleoperation, and motion control.
• Develop forward and inverse kinematic models for continuum and tendon- driven mechanisms, and validate them against real-world data.
• Build trajectory engines, drive modes, and constraint-aware motion algorithms that translate surgeon intent into safe, precise catheter motion.
• Design and execute characterization studies on actuators, tendon transmissions, and full system performance; translate experimental results into models, parameters, and acceptance criteria.
• Define algorithm-level performance specifications and hazard-driven fault detection thresholds; partner with Systems and Quality to support design verification and regulatory submissions
• Translate clinical and user needs into design requirements, prototype rapidly on real hardware, and carry features through verification to product launch
• Drive technical direction for path planning, catheter control, or robotics algorithms across multiple hardware programs (increased level of architectural ownership and cross-program scope for Staff)
• Mentor engineers on the team, lead design reviews, and contribute to hiring and onboarding (increased level of mentorship for Staff)

Job requirements

• BS/MS in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or equivalent; MS or PhD preferred
• 5+ years (Senior) or 8+ years (Staff) of hands-on robotics or controls development; PhD with directly relevant research or projects can offset some industry experience
• Track record of shipping robotic control algorithms in real production systems, ideally end-to-end from concept to production, IDE/clinical use, or FDA-cleared product
• Experience navigating ambiguity in early- and mid-stage development while delivering concrete, testable results
• Experience with medical device development process — design control, risk management, design verification — or equivalent experience in another safety-critical regulated domain
• Demonstrated ability to derive math from first principles and implement it in working code; we want the whiteboard and the IDE in the same person
• Strong written and verbal communication, meaning that you can write a clear design doc, defend a design review, and explain a controller to a non-controls engineer
• Comfortable working hands-on in a lab environment alongside hardware, benchtop fixtures, animals (preclinical), and clinicians