R&D Director (Humanoid Robot)
VinDynamics, Reno, NV, United States
At VinDynamics, we design safe, affordable, and intelligent humanoid robots to assist in everyday life - robots for everyone. Backed by Vingroup, Vietnam’s leading technology conglomerate, we are on a mission to make advanced robotics accessible, reliable, and beneficial for billions of people worldwide. We are building not just robots, but robot minds capable of reasoning, planning, remembering, and acting in the real world.
ABOUT THE ROLE
Key Responsibilities
- Define and execute the long-term R&D roadmap for humanoid robotics.
- Lead and mentor two core engineering divisions: Hardware / Mechatronics Team (mechanical, electrical, embedded systems, actuators). Software / AI Team (controls, planning, perception, AI/ML, simulation)
- Drive technical innovation in manipulation, loco-manipulation, autonomy, and robot hardware.
- Oversee development of both low-level and high-level control stacks, including: State estimation, Whole-body control, Model Predictive Control (MPC), Reinforcement learning–based policies
- Coordinate cross-functional collaboration across hardware, firmware, and software/AI teams.
- Define and enforce technical standards, system architecture principles, and engineering processes.
Qualifications
- Master’s or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, or a related technical field.
- 5+ years of experience in advanced robotics or legged humanoid robots, including at least 2 years in leadership roles.
Requirements
- Proven experience leading multi-disciplinary engineering teams.
- Deep technical expertise in software architecture, data infrastructure, and AI models for humanoid or legged robotic systems.
- Advanced experience with: Model-based control (MPC, optimal control, LQR), Learning-based approaches (reinforcement learning, imitation learning, large behavior models) for locomotion and manipulation.
- Hands‑on experience with real-time systems, ROS / ROS2, or robotic middleware at system level.
- End‑to‑end experience across the full humanoid stack, including actuators, sensors, electronics, control, planning, and AI.
Preferred skills
- Strong interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills.
- Proactive, responsible, business‑oriented, and eager to learn.
- Excellent communication skills with creative problem‑solving ability and strong attention to detail.