Forward Deployed Engineer

Feather Robotics; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Feather Robotics is seeking an experienced Field Deployment Engineer to put robots to work in real-world environments. You will debug and tune controls across hardware and software, solving problems in partnership with customers and the Feather team.

The role blends hands-on hardware work with software development and field diagnostics, requiring travel to customer sites about 15% of the time. A strong robotics background and ROS2 experience are essential.

Qualifications

• Strong software fundamentals with production code reading/writing and debugging.
• Practical robotics and high-/low-level controls experience.
• Experience with ROS2 or real-time systems or field deployment.
• Ability to interface with customers in high-stakes situations.

Responsibilities

• Deploy, debug, and maintain Feather units in the field, diagnosing issues across software, control, and hardware.
• Integrate new components and adapt the control layer to keep deployments running.
• Work directly with customers to understand their environment and resolve issues on-site.
• Feed field learnings back to the engineering team to advance our deployment playbook.
• Travel to customer sites ~15% of time.

Skills

Python

C++

Rust

ROS2

Education

Bachelor's degree in Robotics or related field

Job description

We're looking for an FDE to put robots to work in the real world. You will make Feather's units run for our customers, debugging and tuning controls in the field so our robots can do their jobs. This is a hands‑on role for someone comfortable across hardware, software, and problem-solving in partnership with our customers.

About Feather

Feather is a VC‑backed startup assembling a world‑class team to build general‑purpose robots. While competitors pursue end‑to‑end integration, we are focused on creating the best labor platform on which others will build, monetize, and scale, fostering an ecosystem of solutions akin to Apple's or Nvidia's.

We’ve moved through the hardware lifecycle at lightspeed -- building our first prototype in two months, fulfilling our first order in nine months (vs. 31 months for Figure), and working with a $4B revenue manufacturer. Our units are deployed across several fields today, including cooking, retail, manufacturing, and more.

Responsibilities

• Deploy, debug, and maintain Feather units in the field, diagnosing issues across software, control, and hardware
• Integrate new components and adapt control layer to keep deployments running
• Work directly with customers to understand their environment and resolve issues on‑site
• Feed field learnings back to the engineering team to advance our deployment playbook
• Travel to customer sites ~15% of time

What we're looking for

• Strong software fundamentals and the ability to read, write, and debug production code (Python, C++, Rust)
• Practical robotics and high- / low-level controls experience
• Experience with ROS2 or real‑time systems, or prior field or deployment experience
• Ability to interface with customers in high‑stakes situations
• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Robotics, Software Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field

We are open to applications from exceptional generalist engineers from rigorous backgrounds who are prepared to get their hands dirty in the field.

Why Join Us

• Be the reason that humanoid robots move into the real world. Our FDEs touch every part of the stack and are the face of Feather to our customers
• Shape the future of robotics and physical AI in a tight‑knit, driven team that values ownership, speed, and creativity
• We have the capital, the hardware ownership, and the generational upside to make this your life's work