Intern - Animator and Rigging Artist

Human Computer Lab is a research lab building character robots that feel alive and responsive. Our first robot, LeLamp, explores a new category of consumer robotics where everyday objects become interactive and help us reshape our attachment to technology.

Our goal is to push the frontier of human-robot interaction by making technology more legible, emotionally intuitive, and human-centered. We are building the foundation for a new generation of robots designed for everyday environments.

What to expect

We're looking for a technical animator to rig LeLamp, our first robot, and own the animation pipeline that brings it to life on physical hardware people will actually live with. This role sits at an unusual intersection: the technical depth to build a rig that maps onto real joint constraints and actuator limits, and the creative sensibility to design motion that feels intentional and warm, shaping whether the robot comes across as alive or mechanical. You'll work closely with the CEO and engineers to translate design intent into motion that runs on the robot itself, not just in a viewport.
 

In this role, you will:

Build and maintain the robot rig, defining joint hierarchies, constraints, and control structures aligned with hardware limits

Design and animate behaviors including idle motion, reactions, transitions, gestures, and interaction sequences

Work with controls and firmware engineers to translate animation intent into real robot motion

Stay aligned with mechanical updates and maintain the rig as the platform evolves

Maintain a URDF-compatible or simulation-ready representation of the robot

Help define the robot’s motion language and expressive vocabulary

Build internal tools, workflows, and documentation for the animation pipeline

Evaluate animations on physical hardware and iterate until intent translates reliably

You may be a good fit if you:

Have professional experience as a technical animator or rigger with a strong rigging and animation portfolio

Are fluent in Maya, Blender, or similar DCC tools and can build production-quality rigs from scratch

Understand animation principles such as timing, weight, anticipation, and follow-through

Have experience rigging mechanical or non-organic subjects with real-world constraints

Have strong intuition for what makes motion feel alive rather than mechanical

Are comfortable building pipelines in environments where they don’t yet exist

Have experience animating robots, mechanical characters, or non-humanoid subjects

Have exposure to procedural animation, motion graphs, or behavior trees

Are familiar with URDF, ROS, or simulators such as Gazebo, MuJoCo, or Isaac Sim

Have experience working in Unity, Unreal, or other real-time animation environments

Have experience collaborating with engineering teams on hardware or robotics projects

You will be a strong fit, if you:

Care deeply about motion as a form of communication

See constraints like joint limits and actuator bandwidth as part of the creative process

Take ownership of the robot’s motion language from keyframe to hardware execution

Work well in small, collaborative teams across animation, engineering, and design

Want to create motion for a physical object that lives in someone’s home, not just on a screen

The early team becomes the DNA of the company. We set ourselves and others to a high standard, and we respond with kindness when things get hard but keep everyone accountable. This requires us to be curious, creative, and diverse in our thinking and approach.

We’re proud to be an equal opportunity employer and consider all qualified applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, or veteran status. Even if you don’t meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. Studies show that women and underrepresented groups often hold back unless they meet 100% of the criteria - we don’t want that to be the reason we miss out on great talent.