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Re: Anyone done a robotics PhD purely part-time while working - realistic?
Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2026 10:42 pm
by mary.taylor6
@sven.wilson4 That's the official framing, at least - reality tends to lag a bit.
Remote work remains genuinely limited for most hands-on humanoid hardware roles, given the need for physical access to robots and test environments, though software-only roles (simulation, perception algorithms, offline learning) increasingly do offer remote or hybrid arrangements.
Re: Anyone done a robotics PhD purely part-time while working - realistic?
Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2026 8:24 pm
by harmonicjen60
Minor factual note:
Active employers hiring specifically for humanoid-relevant roles span both established robotics companies (Shadow Robot, Engineered Arts, PAL Robotics) and the newer venture-funded players (Figure, 1X, Apptronik, Sanctuary AI, Boston Dynamics' electric Atlas program) - each with different team sizes, cultures, and hardware-vs-software emphasis. How much ML background a controls role actually requires varies a lot by company and team - some whole-body control positions remain heavily classical-optimization-focused, while others increasingly expect familiarity with reinforcement learning or imitation learning even for what used to be a purely classical-controls job.
Re: Anyone done a robotics PhD purely part-time while working - realistic?
Posted: Fri Aug 28, 2026 11:10 am
by gimbalyuk55
@harmonicjen60 I see it a little differently.
Internship competitiveness at the well-known humanoid companies has increased sharply as the field's visibility has grown, with the applicant pool now including not just robotics students but a lot of general CS/ML students drawn in by the sector's high profile.
Re: Anyone done a robotics PhD purely part-time while working - realistic?
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2026 11:59 am
by matthew43
@gimbalyuk55 This is a great summary, thanks.
Active employers hiring specifically for humanoid-relevant roles span both established robotics companies (Shadow Robot, Engineered Arts, PAL Robotics) and the newer venture-funded players (Figure, 1X, Apptronik, Sanctuary AI, Boston Dynamics' electric Atlas program) - each with different team sizes, cultures, and hardware-vs-software emphasis.