Founding Robotics Software Engineer

Founding Robotics Software Engineer

Company: Venture-backed Robotics Startup (YC-backed)

About the Company

A venture-backed robotics startup is building autonomous systems designed to monitor and maintain critical digital infrastructure.

Founded by engineers from leading robotics institutions and companies, the team brings deep experience across industrial automation, logistics, defense, and inspection systems.

Their focus is on deploying intelligent robotic systems into real-world environments that support the global digital backbone.

The Role

As a Founding Robotics Software Engineer, you’ll be responsible for building the core software systems that enable reliable, real-world robot operation.

This is a highly hands-on, full-stack robotics role with exposure across perception, control, infrastructure, and deployment. You’ll play a key role in shaping both the technical architecture and engineering culture from the ground up.

What You’ll Do

• Develop core software systems that power autonomous robotic platforms
• Work across the robotics stack depending on business needs and personal strengths
• Write production-grade, scalable code with strong testing and reliability standards
• Build low-latency frameworks for telemetry, logging, and system monitoring
• Optimize and deploy perception and control algorithms on edge systems
• Support real-world deployments, including onsite debugging and iteration

What We’re Looking For

• Background in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field
• Experience deploying robotic systems in real-world, high-reliability environments (e.g. autonomous vehicles, drones, industrial robotics)
• Strong programming skills in C++ and Python, including performance optimization
• Familiarity with DevOps, containerization, and cloud/edge infrastructure
• Strong systems thinking with the ability to navigate ambiguity in early-stage environments

Relevant Technical Experience

• Robotics sensors (LiDAR, RGB-D cameras, IMUs, etc.)
• Localization and state estimation
• Motion planning, kinematics, and control systems
• 3D perception and scene understanding

Nice to Have

• Advanced degree in robotics or related field
• Experience building ML/data pipelines for robotics systems
• Familiarity with simulators (e.g. Isaac Sim, PyBullet, Gazebo)
• Exposure to web-based tools or VR interfaces
• Contributions to open-source robotics frameworks

Why Join

• Founding-level role with significant ownership and impact
• Opportunity to build real-world robotic systems from the ground up
• High-autonomy environment with minimal bureaucracy
• Direct involvement in shaping product, culture, and technical direction

Additional Info

This team is focused on hiring exceptional builders who thrive in fast-paced environments and care about deploying systems that actually work in the real world.