Senior Motion Planning Architect - Robotics Autonomy

Pickle Robot Company; Boston (MA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, dental, & vision insurance

Unlimited vacation

401K contributions 5%

Job summary

Pickle Robot Company in Boston is seeking a Principal Motion Planning Engineer to own the technical vision for motion planning, manipulation, navigation, and control software powering our unload robots. This senior IC role requires turning research prototypes into production systems and guiding engineering standards across the robotics org.

You will mentor engineers, define architecture, and deploy robust autonomous solutions at customer sites, with hands-on Python and C++ on real-time,

Qualifications

• 8+ years building robotics software with senior IC responsibilities.
• Expert-level motion planning and controls for real-world robots in production systems.
• Excellent written and spoken English; ability to influence stakeholders without formal authority.
• Mastery of sample-based planning (e.g., RRT), trajectory optimization, and contact-aware control.
• Foundation in robotics, controls, CS, or related field.

Responsibilities

• Own the technical vision and architecture of motion planning and controls for manipulation, navigation, and safety-critical control.
• Tackle advanced planning and control problems; convert research prototypes to production systems.
• Set engineering standards and technical strategy across the robotics org.
• Mentor engineers and review designs without direct reports.
• Define and maintain architecture, interfaces, and documentation for the planning and controls stack.
• Analyze field failures and design robust autonomous recovery across teams.
• Establish regression tests, benchmarks, and success metrics.

Skills

Motion planning

Control systems

Python

C++

ROS/ROS2

Git

Linux

English communication

Technical leadership

Education

Graduate robotics research

Tools

Python

C++

ROS/ROS2

Git

Linux

Job description

Pickle Robot Company in Boston is seeking a Principal Motion Planning Engineer to own the technical vision for motion planning, manipulation, navigation, and control software powering our unload robots. This senior IC role requires turning research prototypes into production systems and guiding engineering standards across the robotics org.

You will mentor engineers, define architecture, and deploy robust autonomous solutions at customer sites, with hands-on Python and C++ on real-time,