Senior/Lead Robotics Software Engineer

MBN Solutions; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

MBN Solutions partners with a YC-backed robotics startup to deliver production-grade robotics software for industrial arms. You will work across perception, planning, controls, and system integration, shipping code directly to production robots in live manufacturing environments.

You’ll be part of a small, collaborative team with high ownership and real impact on customers, deployments, and product direction. Expect to travel to customer sites and help scale deployments.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of experience in Robotics Software Engineering.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop software for industrial robotic systems across motion planning, computer vision and real-time control.

Skills

Python production-grade

ROS/ROS2

Deployment on real robotic systems

Motion Planning

Computer Vision

Robotics integration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or related

Tools

Drake

C++

Git

Robotics middleware

Job description

MBN Solutions is partnered with a YC-backed robotics startup that’s building the AI brain for industrial robot arms, enabling automation of some of manufacturing’s most dangerous and labour-intensive processes.

Already deployed in production environments, the company’s technology is being used by customers across aerospace, defence and energy, with demand growing rapidly. As a result, they’re looking to hire a Robotics Software Engineer to join their high-performing engineering team and help scale deployments across critical manufacturing workflows.

This is a rare opportunity to join a robotics company where your work won’t sit in simulation or research environments. Engineers regularly see code deployed onto production robots within 1-2 months, solving real-world customer problems from day one.

The Opportunity

As a Robotics Software Engineer, you’ll operate as a robotics generalist, working across perception, planning, controls, and system integration to deliver reliable robotic systems in live manufacturing environments.

You’ll join a small, highly collaborative engineering team where ownership is high, bureaucracy is low, and every engineer has a direct impact on customers, deployments, and product direction.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Design and develop software for industrial robotic systems across motion planning, computer vision and real-time control.
• Write, test and deploy production-quality code directly onto physical robotic systems.
• Build perception-to-action pipelines integrating cameras, depth sensors and robot hardware.
• Work across the full robotics stack, contributing wherever needed to deliver customer outcomes.
• Travel to customer sites (approximately 2 months per year) to deploy, debug and support robotic systems in production environments.
• Develop tools, interfaces and workflows that improve robot reliability and usability on the factory floor.
• Contribute to key architectural decisions as the robotics platform scales.
• Work with modern robotics frameworks including Drake and ROS.
• Collaborate closely with a small engineering team to bring automation into critical American manufacturing industries.

What We’re Looking For

• 2-5 years of experience in Robotics Software Engineering.
• Strong Python development skills with experience writing production-grade software.
• Experience deploying software onto real-world robotic systems.
• Experience working with industrial robot arms, robotic manipulation systems or similar hardware platforms.
• Hands-on experience integrating cameras, depth sensors and perception systems with robotic workflows.
• Experience using ROS, ROS2 or comparable robotics middleware.
• Strong practical expertise in at least one of:
• Motion Planning
• Computer Vision
• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering or a related discipline.

Technical Environment

• Python
• Drake
• Motion Planning
• Computer Vision
• C++
• Git
• Must be willing to work onsite in San Francisco.
• Must qualify as a U.S. Person due to ITAR compliance requirements.

Who This Role Suits

We’re looking for engineers who enjoy building and deploying robotics systems in the real world. Candidates with hands-on deployment experience will be particularly successful in this environment.

This role is unlikely to be a fit for candidates coming exclusively from pure software engineering backgrounds with no robotics exposure, or researchers who have not worked on deployed robotic systems.

Why Join?

• YC-backed startup with strong customer demand and active production deployments.
• Opportunity to work on one of the most important automation challenges in modern manufacturing.
• Small team environment with significant ownership and autonomy.
• Direct customer impact and rapid deployment cycles.
• Meaningful equity and long-term growth potential.
• See your work operating on real robots in real manufacturing environments within weeks.