Principal Robotics Engineer

Socket.dev; Irvine (CA); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

FieldAI's Irvine team leads the development of robust autonomy software that drives embodied AI in field deployments. You will architect production-grade systems spanning perception, localization, planning, and control, and ensure stable interfaces that empower dozens of engineers to move fast without breaking the fleet.

You will translate cutting-edge research into field-ready capabilities, mentor senior engineers, and champion reliability with strong observability and diagnostics for

Qualifications

• Master's or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field—or equivalent industry experience.
• 10+ years of experience building production robotics or autonomy software, with a track record of Principal- or Staff-level technical impact.
• Deep expertise in modern C++ and Python, with strong command of ROS/ROS2, Linux, and Git.
• Demonstrated experience architecting large-scale autonomy systems across two or more of: perception, SLAM/localization, planning, and control.
• Strong foundation in real-time systems, concurrency, and performance optimization.
• Proven ability to lead complex technical efforts across multiple teams and to influence direction without formal management authority.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to make sound architectural trade-offs and articulate them to engineers and stakeholders alike.

Responsibilities

• Autonomy Stack Leadership: Drive deep technical work across perception, localization and mapping, planning, and control.
• Production Software Quality & Stable Interfaces: Define and enforce stable API contracts between autonomy components and the broader software platform.
• Cross-Team Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Align engineers across multiple teams on shared technical direction without formal authority.
• Research-to-Production Translation: Partner with research collaborators to mature learning-based methods—from prototypes to deployed capabilities.
• Field Reliability & Incident Resolution: Lead root-cause analysis and establish observability and engineering practices for reliable real-world operation.

Skills

C++

Python

ROS/ROS2

Linux

Git

Real-time systems

Architectural leadership

Communication

Distributed systems

Education

Master's or PhD in Robotics / CS / EE

Tools

Isaac Sim

Gazebo

MuJoCo

Job description

FieldAI's Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California's robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field.

FieldAI is seeking a Principal Robotics Engineer to set technical direction across our autonomy software stack and to take ownership of our hardest, highest-leverage engineering problems. As a Principal-level individual contributor, you will architect production-grade systems spanning perception, localization, planning, and control; define the interfaces and quality standards that let dozens of engineers move fast without breaking the fleet; and translate cutting-edge research into reliable, field-ready capabilities running on legged and wheeled robots worldwide. This is a technical leadership role: you will multiply the output of the entire autonomy organization through architecture, mentorship, and cross-team influence rather than through people management.

What You'll Get To Do

• Autonomy Stack Leadership: Drive deep technical work across perception, localization and mapping, planning, and control. Identify the algorithmic and systems bottlenecks limiting reliability and performance, and personally lead the most difficult of them to resolution.
• Production Software Quality & Stable Interfaces: Define and enforce stable API contracts between autonomy components and the broader software platform. Raise the bar on production software quality through testing, code review, profiling, and architectural discipline.
• Cross-Team Technical Leadership & Mentorship: Align engineers across multiple teams on shared technical direction without formal authority. Mentor senior and staff engineers, review designs, and grow the technical depth of the organization.
• Research-to-Production Translation: Partner with research collaborators and internal scientists to mature promising methods—including learning-based traversability, foundation models, and learned planning—from prototypes into robust, deployed capabilities.
• Field Reliability & Incident Resolution: Lead root-cause analysis of complex, fleet-wide reliability and performance issues. Establish the observability, diagnostics, and engineering practices that keep robots operating reliably in real-world conditions.

What you Have

• Master's or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field—or equivalent industry experience.
• 10+ years of experience building production robotics or autonomy software, with a track record of Principal- or Staff-level technical impact.
• Deep expertise in modern C++ and Python, with strong command of ROS/ROS2, Linux, and Git.
• Demonstrated experience architecting large-scale autonomy systems across two or more of: perception, SLAM/localization, planning, and control.
• Strong foundation in real-time systems, concurrency, and performance optimization.
• Proven ability to lead complex technical efforts across multiple teams and to influence direction without formal management authority.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; able to make sound architectural trade-offs and articulate them to engineers and stakeholders alike.

What Will Set You Apart

• PhD with a strong publication record in robotics, perception, or machine learning.
• Hands-on experience with both legged and wheeled robot platforms.
• Experience with learning-based methods for navigation, traversability, or planning, including vision foundation models or reinforcement learning.
• Experience with simulation environments such as Isaac Sim, Gazebo, or MuJoCo.
• Track record of deploying and maintaining robot fleets in harsh or unstructured real-world environments.
• Familiarity with fleet observability and performance tooling (e.g., Prometheus, Grafana).

Our salary range is generous and we consider each individual's background and experience when determining final compensation. Base pay may vary based on role scope, job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and the Irvine, California market.

Why Join FieldAI in Irvine?

In Irvine, you will work where the robots are. Our local team builds and tests systems on real hardware with real sensors, then ships them to operate in unstructured, previously unknown environments around the world. We are solving one of robotics' hardest challenges: reliable deployment outside the lab. Our Field Foundational Models raise the bar for perception, planning, localization, and manipulation, with an emphasis on explainability and safety for real-world use.

You will collaborate with a world-class team that thrives on creativity, resilience, and bold thinking. We bring deep experience from organizations such as DeepMind, NASA JPL, Boston Dynamics, NVIDIA, Amazon, Tesla Autopilot, Cruise, Zoox, Toyota Research Institute, and SpaceX, along with a track record of field deployments and strong performance in DARPA challenge segments.

Be Part of the Next Robotics Revolution

We are looking for builders who want their work to leave the whiteboard and show up on robots. If you enjoy tackling tough, uncharted questions and working across disciplines, you will find your people here. Our teams span AI, software, robotics engineering, product, field deployment, and technical communication, all focused on shipping systems that perform in the real world.

Our headquarters is in Irvine, and we partner closely with teams there as well as colleagues across the US and around the world. Join us in Southern California and help define what dependable, field-ready autonomy looks like.

We value diverse perspectives and are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace. We evaluate candidates and employees based on merit, qualifications, and performance, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin, ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, or any other legally protected status.