Samsung Electronics' Device Experience (DX) division has launched a global recruitment drive for robot research and development professionals. Facing sluggish profitability in its home appliances and TV businesses, the DX division is turning to robotics and AI as a way forward, and is seeking a large number of master's and doctoral-level specialists to accelerate commercialization.
The hiring push is centered on the RX (Robotics Experience) Business Promotion Office within the Production Technology Research Institute — and is drawing particular attention as the first open recruitment since the RX Business Promotion Office was established last month.
According to industry sources, the DX division began accepting applications Thursday from foreign professionals with R&D experience, with the window open through Sept. 2. Nine of the 12 hiring categories are tied to humanoid robots, industrial robots or physical AI, underscoring the division's sharp focus on robotics.
The DX division established the RX Business Promotion Office on July 21 under the direct authority of CEO Roh Tae-moon, designating robotics as a core pillar of future growth. The move consolidated robot-related capabilities that had previously been scattered across different parts of the company.
Even before the RX Business Promotion Office was set up, the division had been assembling talent in locomotion and whole-body control, manipulation, and robot foundation models through internal transfers and experienced hires. The latest global recruitment round is intended to further expand that R&D headcount.
The RX Business Promotion Office is hiring for five roles: robotic hand control circuit development, robotic hand electrical circuit development, robot mechanical development, robot electrical development, and whole-body control software development. Candidates with master's or doctoral degrees, as well as those with relevant research records or hands-on development experience, will be given preference.
Those hired will work at the forefront of humanoid robot and dexterous robotic hand development — a signal of Samsung Electronics' strong commitment to bringing humanoid robots to market.
Samsung Electronics has been pouring resources into robotic hand development, widely regarded as one of the biggest technical hurdles to humanoid commercialization. Industry sources say robotic hands account for 17 to 31 percent of a humanoid robot's component costs, reflecting both the high technical barriers and the significant expense involved.
This round of hiring targets specialists in robotic hand control and tactile sensor solution development for precise object manipulation, with the goal of achieving dexterity on par with the human hand. Software engineers capable of teleoperating humanoid robots are also being recruited to help bring real-world deployment closer.
The job postings also reveal a strategy of training robots using platforms from Nvidia and Google DeepMind. Samsung Electronics plans to use Nvidia's Isaac Sim and DeepMind's MuJoCo simulators to test robots' physical interactions and behaviors in virtual environments. MuJoCo is a high-performance multi-joint dynamics engine specialized in precise physical simulation.
The Production Technology Research Institute, which prepares the DX division's manufacturing technology for the future, is also recruiting physical AI specialists. Hiring is under way in four areas: mechanical development for learning-based robot manipulation AI, actuator and robot control mechanical development, adaptive robot control software development, and industrial robot motion mechanical development.
The Production Technology Research Institute automates manufacturing processes and builds smart factories using robotics, AI and digital twins. The engineers hired in this round will develop assembly and industrial robot control technologies that can be applied directly to production lines.
Samsung Electronics is also hiring data engineering software developers and security software developers to work within its big data center. The data engineering software developers will be responsible for building generative AI-based data analysis services — a hire that reflects the DX division's broader push to integrate AI into its operations.
jeongwan@heraldcorp.com
