Who's Actually Hiring in Humanoid Robotics Right Now
Tesla, Figure, Unitree, and 1X all have open, named humanoid robotics roles as of this page's review date, spanning engineering, data collection, and hands-on robot operation.
This page tracks postings, not projections. Every role and pay figure below links back to the company's own careers page or a named job board rather than an aggregator's estimate, and it stays inside the "who is hiring for what" lane rather than becoming a general robot buying guide.
The category splits cleanly by skill level: no-degree operator and data-collection roles at the entry point, an associate or technical certificate for hands-on assembly and field service, and a four-year engineering degree for the mechanical, electrical, and controls roles building the robots themselves.
Tesla Optimus: Teleoperation, Data Collection, and Robotics Engineering
Tesla posts named Optimus engineering roles directly on its own careers site, including a Robotics Engineer, Teleoperation, Optimus position and a C++ Software Engineer role covering both Optimus and Robotaxi teleoperation, both based in Palo Alto, California.
Below the engineering tier, Tesla has separately recruited "data collection operators" who wear motion-capture suits and VR headsets to demonstrate movements Optimus learns from, a role Interesting Engineering reported paying $25.25 to $48 per hour. Physical requirements posted for that role include a height range and the ability to walk for several hours at a stretch, since the job is physically demonstrating tasks in the suit.
The pattern across Tesla's Optimus postings is a wide skill spread inside one product line: an operator role needs no robotics background at all, while the teleoperation engineering roles expect the same software and controls depth as any other Tesla vehicle-software posting.
| Role | Where posted | Skill level | Pay signal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Data collection operator | Tesla recruiting, third-party reporting | No robotics background required | $25.25–$48/hr (Interesting Engineering) |
| Robotics Engineer, Teleoperation | tesla.com/careers | Robotics or controls degree | Not publicly listed; Tesla AI roles average roughly $103k/yr (ZipRecruiter aggregate) |
| C++ Software Engineer, Teleoperation | tesla.com/careers | Software engineering degree | Not publicly listed |
Figure: Robot Operators and Engineering Interns
Figure lists open roles directly on its own careers page, spanning humanoid robot operator positions in San Jose, California, alongside mechanical and controls engineering internships.
Figure's Humanoid Robot Operator postings, an entry point that does not require a robotics degree, have candidates work directly with the hardware to test and validate new behaviors on a shift schedule. That sits beside internship-track mechanical and robotics-integration roles aimed at current engineering students.
Reported pay for engineering-track roles ranges roughly from $70,000 for entry-level positions to more than $150,000 for experienced hires, based on job-board aggregation rather than a single official Figure-published band; confirm the exact figure on the listing itself before treating it as fixed.
Unitree and 1X: Hardware, Assembly, and AI Roles
Unitree posts AI, mechatronics, and robotics-engineering openings, including remote AI Engineer roles that call for several years of machine-learning and data-pipeline experience, alongside internship-track mechatronics and controls positions.
1X, maker of the EVE industrial and NEO home humanoid platforms, lists a wide range of open roles on its own careers page, from robot assembly technician and manufacturing engineering positions at its San Carlos, California factory to software, AI, and product roles.
Agility Robotics, maker of the Digit humanoid, lists engineering, AI research, and field-deployment roles on its own careers page, reflecting a company further along toward paid commercial deployments than some competitors.
Assembly and manufacturing roles at 1X and similar factories are the closest thing to a traditional production job in this sector: no robotics degree required, on-site, and centered on building and fitting the physical hardware rather than programming it.
Which Path Fits Which Background
No robotics background needed: Tesla's data collection operator role and Figure's or 1X's robot operator and assembly technician postings all recruit for physical aptitude and reliability over a technical degree.
Two-year technical or associate degree: field service and manufacturing technician roles across the sector generally want mechatronics, electromechanical, or industrial-maintenance coursework plus willingness to be trained on a specific robot platform.
Four-year engineering degree: the teleoperation, controls, mechanical, and AI engineering roles at Tesla, Figure, Unitree, and 1X all list a bachelor's degree in a relevant engineering or computer science field as a baseline expectation, with a graduate degree common on the AI research side.
- Confirm the posting is still open before applying; humanoid robotics postings turn over fast as teams staff up around a launch.
- Read the physical requirements section on operator and data-collection roles closely, since height, mobility, and shift-length limits are common and enforced.
- For engineering roles, expect the job description to name the specific robot platform (Optimus, Digit, NEO) rather than a generic robotics title.
- Treat any pay figure not sourced to the company's own posting or a named job board as an estimate, not a confirmed offer range.
How This Differs From a Robot Buying Guide
This page covers who is hiring to build and operate humanoid robots, not which robot to buy. If your interest is purchasing or piloting a platform instead of working on one, the review and pricing pages for specific models are the better starting point.
For buyer-facing status on the robots these companies build, see the Tesla Optimus review, the 1X NEO review, and the Unitree R1 review. None of those pages cover hiring, and this one does not cover pricing or availability.
When we ran our own autocomplete-demand mining routine across humanoid robotics search terms for The Bot Scout, career and salary-intent queries showed up as a real, recurring blind spot: the individual phrases each register as zero-volume in conventional keyword tools, but the cluster as a whole was large enough, and specific enough, to justify a dedicated page rather than a stray FAQ entry.
Bottom Line
Humanoid robot hiring in 2026 splits into operator and data-collection roles open to candidates without a robotics degree, technician and assembly roles suited to a two-year technical background, and engineering roles at Tesla, Figure, Unitree, and 1X that expect a four-year degree. Verify every pay figure against the company's own posting before treating it as confirmed.
Match your background to the right tier, then apply directly through the company's own careers page rather than a third-party listing.
FAQs
How much does Tesla pay for Optimus-related jobs?
Tesla's data collection operator role, which involves wearing a motion-capture suit to demonstrate movements, has been reported paying $25.25 to $48 per hour. Tesla does not publicly list pay for its Robotics Engineer, Teleoperation, Optimus role; general Tesla AI-track salaries average roughly $103,000 per year on aggregator sites, which should be treated as an estimate.
Do you need an engineering degree to work in humanoid robotics?
No, not for every role. Operator, data-collection, and assembly-technician positions at Tesla, Figure, and 1X do not require a robotics or engineering degree. Teleoperation, controls, mechanical, and AI engineering roles at the same companies do expect a relevant bachelor's degree at minimum.
Is Tesla hiring for Optimus trainer jobs right now?
Tesla has recruited data collection operators for Optimus training and separately posts named engineering roles such as Robotics Engineer, Teleoperation, Optimus on its own careers site. Confirm current openings directly on tesla.com/careers, since specific listings open and close.
What is a humanoid robot operator job?
A humanoid robot operator, a role posted by companies including Figure, works directly with physical robot hardware to run test routines, validate new behaviors, and report issues on a shift schedule. It is an entry-level, hands-on role that does not typically require a robotics degree.
Which companies besides Tesla hire for humanoid robot roles?
Figure, Unitree, 1X, and Agility Robotics all post named, current openings on their own careers pages, spanning engineering, AI research, assembly, and field-deployment roles. Check each company's own site directly, since third-party job boards can lag behind the original posting.