Robotics Software Engineer

Socket.dev; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, & vision insurance

Unlimited vacation

401K contributions

Travel supplies

Other perks

Job summary

Pickle Robot Company in Boston, MA is seeking a Robotics Software Engineer to design, build, and productionize motion planning software for AMRs and mobile manipulators. You will bring planning algorithms from prototype to real hardware on customer sites, while building infrastructure for cross-platform deployment and testing.

The role requires 2+ years in robotics software, Python expertise, and strong English communication.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of professional software engineering experience building robotics, planning and control for AMRs or Mobile Manipulator robots.
• Hands-on experience developing and deploying classical motion planning algorithms, or ML based planning methods for real-world robots or other safety-critical, real-time systems.
• Strong written and verbal communication; professional fluency in English.
• Proficiency in Python; experience with C++ is a bonus.
• Ownership mentality and bias for action, comfort with ambiguity and hardware, collaborative approach.
• Hybrid — Boston, MA area, with regular on-site work and occasional travel to deployment sites.
• Full-time, with occasional schedule flexibility to support on-site deployments and testing.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop production-quality software that plans how a robot arm and base moves through a trailer packed with boxes and bags.
• Build and maintain the infrastructure to run, benchmark, and deploy planning algorithms across our fleet's compute platforms.
• Partner with the simulation team to build simulation CI pipelines that validate planner behavior and catch regressions before deployments.
• Own features end-to-end from prototype to field deployment, debugging and tuning on real hardware at customer sites.
• Write production-grade software with Python and C++, meeting reliability, latency, and timing requirements for safety-critical operation.
• Collaborate with perception, hardware, firmware, and deployment teams, mentoring junior engineers while upholding best practices.

Skills

Robotics

Motion planning

Python

C++

English communication

Hybrid collaboration

Job description

About this role:

Pickle is on the hunt for a dynamic and driven Robotics Software Engineer to revolutionize the future of warehouse automation. You will design, build, and productionize the motion planning software that lets our robots navigate, plan collision-free arm and base motion, and unload trucks in real time on live loading docks. This is a hands-on, end-to-end role where you will take planning algorithms from prototype to reliable production behavior on real hardware at customer sites, build the infrastructure to run and evaluate them across our fleet's varying compute platforms, and work with the simulation team to validate every change in simulation CI before it ever touches a robot.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop production-quality software that plans how a robot arm and base moves through a trailer packed with boxes, bags, and whatever else got thrown in.

• Build and maintain the infrastructure to run, benchmark, and deploy planning algorithms across our fleet's varying compute platforms.

• Partner with the simulation team to build simulation CI pipelines that validate planner behavior and catch regressions before every deployment to real robots

• Own features end-to-end from prototype to field deployment, debugging and tuning on real hardware at customer sites

• Write production-grade software with Python and C++, meeting strict reliability, latency, and timing requirements for safety-critical operation

• Collaborate with perception, hardware, firmware, and deployment teams, and mentor junior engineers while upholding engineering best practices

Skills and Experience

• 2+ years of professional software engineering experience building robotics, planning and control for AMRs or Mobile Manipulator robots

• Hands-on experience developing and deploying classical motion planning algorithms, or ML based planning methods for real-world robots or other safety-critical, real-time systems

• Strong written and verbal communication; able to explain complex technical tradeoffs to cross-functional partners. Professional fluency in English

• Proficiency in Python; Experience with C++ is a bonus

• Ownership mentality and bias for action, comfort with ambiguity and physical hardware, intellectual curiosity, and a collaborative, low-ego approach

• Hybrid — Boston, MA area, with regular on-site work and occasional travel to customer deployment sites

• Full-time, with occasional schedule flexibility to support on-site deployments and testing

Pay at Pickle

At Pickle Robot Company, we believe transparency builds trust. The salary range listed here is provided in accordance with Massachusetts law and reflects what we reasonably and in good faith expect to offer for this role. We often consider candidates at different levels of seniority, and final compensation will reflect the level at which a candidate is hired, along with factors like experience and location.

About Pickle Robot

Want to get in on the ground floor of a fast-growing, VC‑backed robotics company? Join Pickle Robot! We build systems that companies and their teams love.

Pickle robots unload trucks. Every day, millions of trucks and containers are loaded and unloaded, often requiring manual labor—tough, dirty, dangerous, and hard to staff. Pickle automates this process using AI, machine learning, and robotics to deliver reliable products. Our Unload Systems work with teams on loading docks to make the job safer, faster, and more efficient.

• health, dental, & vision insurance
• unlimited vacation, along with all federal and state holidays
• 401K contributions of 5% your salary
• travel supplies
• other items to make your working life more fun, comfortable, and productive.