Anyone negotiate equity vs salary at an early-stage humanoid startup - lessons learned?

Getting into the field, degree paths, labs, papers, internships, and career/salary discussion.
emma_whit
Posts: 73
Joined: Thu Dec 25, 2025 11:20 pm

Re: Anyone negotiate equity vs salary at an early-stage humanoid startup - lessons learned?

Post by emma_whit »

Slight correction, though the overall point stands: 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.
young58
Posts: 106
Joined: Fri Oct 17, 2025 6:16 am

Re: Anyone negotiate equity vs salary at an early-stage humanoid startup - lessons learned?

Post by young58 »

@emma_whit +1 to this. Worth adding: 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. 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.
they/them
nicole57
Posts: 208
Joined: Wed Dec 04, 2024 1:29 am

Re: Anyone negotiate equity vs salary at an early-stage humanoid startup - lessons learned?

Post by nicole57 »

Speaking from personal experience here, 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.
she/her | grad student, biped locomotion
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