Tactile Sensing Research Engineer

About 1X

We’re building humanoid robots that work in home - doing the chores, handling the tasks, and giving people their time back. Simple, but it’s not.

To do this right, we have to solve robotics, AI, manufacturing - at the same time, at scale, in a form factor that has to be safe enough to live with your family. If you’re inspired by this, you’ll thrive here. We’ve been at this since 2014 and we’re at the point where the hard problems are behind us and the hard work is in front of us.

NEO is our flagship - a home robot designed to move, learn, and operate in the real world alongside real people. We’re not demoing it - we’re shipping it. We’re excited to meet you, if this excites you.

If you’ve spent your career working on problems that matter and want to see them actually reach the world - this is that moment. We’re scaling, we’re hiring with intention, and we need people who want to build something that will genuinely change how humans spend their time - safely creating abundance for all.

1X Labs exists to provide the science and technology that enables human-level, general-purpose humanoids. We identify the gaps between current robotic capabilities and human performance, then pursue the fundamental advances required to close them through deep research, rigorous experimentation, and rapid iteration.

The sensing systems we develop are not isolated components—they directly shape what robots can perceive, understand, and manipulate. Our work spans materials, sensing, actuation, control, and system integration, with the expectation that research outcomes ultimately become products.

Advance tactile sensing toward human-level capability by developing sensing systems that capture the structure and dynamics of physical contact, not merely the presence of touch.

You will take promising tactile sensing technologies and push them through repeated cycles of design, fabrication, testing, and refinement. Your work will focus on understanding fundamental performance limits, eliminating bottlenecks, and systematically improving sensing performance across spatial resolution, temporal response, dynamic range, robustness, and durability.

As a Tactile Sensing Researcher / Engineer, you'll help create the sensing foundation required for dexterous manipulation and meaningful interaction with the physical world.

• Deliver successive generations of tactile sensing systems that demonstrate measurable improvements in sensing performance and robustness

• Establish rigorous benchmarking methodologies against human tactile capabilities and other state-of-the-art sensing technologies

• Identify and overcome fundamental limitations in tactile sensing architectures, materials, and transduction approaches

• Generate experimental evidence that guides research decisions and enables confident technology down-selection

• Successfully transition promising tactile sensing concepts into viable paths for integration with robotic manipulation systems

• Deep expertise in tactile sensing, sensing systems, or closely related research domains

• Strong experimental mindset with a focus on measurement quality, repeatability, and evidence-driven decision making

• Ability to work across materials, mechanics, electronics, and system integration challenges

• Exceptional hands‑on prototyping, fabrication, and testing skills

• Persistence and intellectual rigor when solving difficult technical problems with no obvious solutions

• PhD in Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Bioengineering, or a closely related field

• Demonstrated high-impact contributions to tactile sensing or related sensing technologies through publications, patents, deployed systems, or equivalent technical achievements

• Proven experience developing sensing technologies through multiple generations of design, fabrication, and validation

• Strong hands‑on experience building and testing physical sensing systems

• Track record of identifying and overcoming fundamental performance limitations in sensing technologies

• Experience working with soft, compliant, or bio-inspired materials in sensing…