April 4, 2026
Robots, ramen, and rage comments
Mbodi AI (YC P25) Is Hiring
Ex-Googlers want you to teach robots by talking—pay range sparks a comment brawl
TLDR: Mbodi AI is hiring a senior robotics engineer to make “talk-to-teach” robots work in real factories. Commenters are split between hype and hope, roasting the huge pay range and poking at YC batch confusion while debating if this is true industrial progress or just glossy AI marketing.
Mbodi AI, a Y Combinator–backed startup, just dropped a hiring post for a Senior Robotics Engineer and the comments section went nuclear. The pitch: teach robots new skills by literally talking to them, then get those skills running in real factories—fast. Fans cheered the mix of real hardware and AI, calling it “finally, not just demo theater.” Skeptics clapped back: “Minutes to production? On whose planet?” The salary band—$100K to $250K with up to 2% equity—lit the biggest fire. One camp says it’s fair for a risky early-stage rocket ship. The other calls it “from ramen to yacht,” accusing startups of dangling lottery-ticket equity. There’s also a subplot: the listing says YC P25 up top but X25 inside, spawning detective memes and “did they just typo their batch?” threads. Old-school engineers are thrilled the role demands serious control theory (think steering and stabilizing machines) and hands-on factory work, while AI hype-watchers dunked on “just chat to your robot” marketing. Amid the chaos, the most-liked take: “If you can command a robot with plain English and it survives an ABB floor, that’s a revolution.” The rest? Wondering if that revolution comes with travel, 3 a.m. debugging, and steel-toe boots
Key Points
- •Mbodi AI, a YC X25 embodied AI robotics startup, is hiring a Senior Robotics Engineer (Systems & Controls).
- •The role involves designing and tuning control systems (PID, feedforward, state-space, LQR, MPC) and deploying them on real robot hardware.
- •Responsibilities include modeling dynamics, interfacing with industrial OEM controllers, integrating sensors and safety I/O, and commissioning in production.
- •Candidates need deep applied control theory expertise, 4+ years in robotics software with C++/Python, and hands-on experience with ABB, Fanuc, KUKA, or UR robots.
- •Preferred skills include ABB RAPID and ROS2, with compensation of $100K–$250K salary and 0.50%–2.00% equity.