Robotics Software Engineer III, Manipulation

Socket.dev; Salem (VA); Hybrid; USD 155,000 - 241,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan with 6% match

Equity

Medical, dental, vision insurance (100

Short/Long-term disability insurance

Unlimited PTO

Relocation assistance

Annual discretionary bonus

On-site lunches and healthy snacks

Tuition reimbursement

Job summary

Agility Robotics is hiring a Robotics Software Engineer III to develop manipulation behaviors for humanoid robots. You will own a task vertical from definition to on-robot execution and work across learning and classical methods.

You’ll run an end-to-end LfD flywheel for manipulation tasks, collecting data, training policies, and iterating until robust for real deployments. Hybrid role with multiple US offices.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Robotics, AI, Computer Science, Machine Learning or related field.
• 2+ years of experience deploying manipulation behaviors on real robots.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals and proficiency in Python.

Responsibilities

• Own a task vertical from definition through reliable on-robot execution.
• Work across learned and classical manipulation methods.
• Run iterative policy improvements across data collection, annotation, training, evaluation, and deployment.
• Work closely with teleoperators to improve data quality and operator instructions.
• Develop grading rubrics and evaluation workflows that measure progress of policies on real robots.

Skills

Python programming

Robotics software

Education

MS/PhD in Robotics/AI/CS

Tools

Python

Job description

Agility’s commercially deployed humanoids operate alongside teams in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers—tackling physically demanding and repetitive tasks while enabling workers to focus on higher-value work. With industry-leading safety standards and years of proven deployment data, we're pioneering a new era of automation that enhances human potential.

About the Role

We are looking for a Robotics Software Engineer III to join our Skills team and develop manipulation behaviors for humanoid robots. You will own a task vertical from definition through reliable on-robot execution, working across learned and classical manipulation approaches.

You will run our LfD flywheel end-to-end for manipulation tasks: collecting data, defining operator instructions, improving data quality, setting up grading rubrics, training policies, evaluating failures, and iterating until the behavior is robust enough for real deployments.

This role is well suited for an engineer who enjoys working close to the robot and being methodical about failure analysis. You will replay logs, identify weak points in the state distribution, root-cause failures, and build the engineering around policies and primitives so the robot can execute complete workflows.

Key Responsibilities

• Own a task vertical from definition through reliable on-robot execution
• Work across learned and classical manipulation methods
• Run iterative policy improvements across data collection, annotation, training, evaluation, and deployment
• Work closely with teleoperators to improve data quality and operator instructions
• Develop grading rubrics and evaluation workflows that make progress measurable, where success gets measured by policies that act more reliably on real robots in the real world.
• Root cause failures using logs, replays, and analysis of state distributions
• Integrate learned policies with higher-level skills so they can execute inside complete robot workflows
• Build general manipulation capabilities that reduce the amount of task-specific tuning
• Experiment with off-the-shelf manipulation and perception models
• Partner with the ML team that owns the base large behavior model, LfD flywheel, and training recipes used to post-train policies for specific manipulation tasks

About You

• MS or PhD in Robotics, AI, Computer Science, Machine Learning, or a related field
• 2+ years of experience deploying manipulation behaviors on real robots
• Strong software engineering fundamentals and proficiency in Python
• Experience with robot data collection, training, and testing on hardware to perform manipulation tasks
• Familiarity with at least some of the following: grasp planning, imitation learning, reinforcement learning, force control, teleoperation, robot sensors, visual servoing, and object perception
• Strong analytical, experimental, and debugging skills
• Comfortable working hands-on with robotic systems in a lab environment

This a hybrid position based out of one of our Pittsburgh, PA, Salem, OR or Fremont, CA offices.

The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to: market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This range may change based on geographical location and may be modified in the future.

Anticipated Salary Range

$155,000 – $241,000 USD

In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of the following for full-time employees:

• 401(k) Plan: Includes a 6% company match.
• Equity: Company stock options.
• Insurance Coverage: 100% company‑paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long‑term disability insurance for employees.
• Benefit Start Date: Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
• Well-Being Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Time Off:
• Exempt Employees: Flexible, unlimited PTO and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
• Non‑Exempt Employees: 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.
• On‑Site Perks: Catered lunches four times a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
• Parental Leave: Generous paid parental leave programs.
• Work Environment: A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
• Growth Opportunities: Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.
• Relocation Assistance: Provided for eligible roles.
• Annual Discretionary Bonus: Provided for eligible roles.

All of our roles are U.S.-based. Applicants must have current authorization to work in the United States.

Agility Robotics is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, it is the policy of Agility Robotics to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Agility Robotics prohibits any such discrimination or harassment.