Senior Robotics Engineer / Onsite / Woburn, MA

Kelly Services; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Kelly Services is seeking a Senior Robotics Engineer – Motion Planning in the Boston area to lead motion planning, trajectory optimization, and real-time robotic execution on a unique platform. You will work closely with hardware, planners, and perception teams to advance a cutting-edge automation system.

The role emphasizes hands-on development, access to hardware, and direct influence on technical direction as the project moves from prototype to deployment in a high-ownership environment.

Qualifications

• Deep expertise in robotic motion planning algorithms (RRT, RRT*, PRM, CHOMP, STOMP, TrajOpt).
• 2+ years of hands-on experience with ROS 2 and MoveIt/MoveIt 2 in production or near-production robotic systems.
• Strong understanding of robot kinematics for serial and parallel manipulators.
• Hands-on experience with kinematic solvers such as KDL or TRAC-IK.
• Strong understanding of collision avoidance, occupancy representations, voxel grids, OctoMap, and safety-aware motion planning.
• Experience configuring URDF/SRDF models, planning scenes, planner interfaces, and motion profiles.
• Proficiency in C++ and/or Python within the ROS 2 ecosystem.
• Understanding of real-time performance, memory management, and robotics software design patterns.
• Ability to diagnose complex hardware/software integration issues from trajectories to actuators.
• Experience delivering production-grade robotic systems for fast, reliable motion planning under real-world constraints.
• Experience working with dynamic obstacles and complex environments.
• Experience with robotic simulation environments for development, testing, and validation.
• Strong software engineering fundamentals and well-documented designs.

Responsibilities

• Motion Planning & Trajectory Optimization — Develop collision-aware motion planning using OMPL, RRT/PRM, Pilz, CHOMP, STOMP, TrajOpt, and related methods.
• ROS 2 & MoveIt Development — Build and maintain ROS 2 nodes, MoveIt configurations, planning scenes, URDF/SRDF models, interfaces, and trajectory execution systems.
• Robotics Software & Controls — Develop software for actuator state feedback, joint state publishing, trajectory execution and hardware interfaces.
• Kinematics, Collision Avoidance & Safety — Define constraints, limits, collision models, safety interlocks, and motion profiles.
• Simulation, Testing & Field Deployment — Validate behaviors in simulation, perform hardware-in-the-loop testing, and optimize motion in field deployments.
• Daily Responsibilities — Hands-on engineering coding in C++/Python, tune planners, debug trajectories, optimize performance, and ensure production readiness.
• Team Collaboration — Work with perception, hardware, firmware, and software engineers to define requirements and directions.

Skills

Robotics motion planning

ROS 2

MoveIt/MoveIt 2

Kinematics

C++

Python

Collision avoidance

Trajectory optimization

URDF/SRDF

Real-time systems

Hardware-in-loop

Production robotic systems

Motion planning under constraints

Education

BS/MS/PhD in Robotics or related technical field

Tools

OMPL

Pilz Industrial Motion Planner

CHOMP

STOMP

TrajOpt

Job description

$120000 - $180000

An innovative robotics company is seeking a Senior Robotics Engineer – Motion Planning to join their team in Woburn, MA. This is a full-time opportunity with a company reinventing automotive service through cutting-edge robotics. The company is developing automated tire changing and wheel balancing technology that combines advanced robotics, multi-axis motion systems, perception, and intelligent software to transform a process that has remained largely unchanged for decades.

This is a high-ownership opportunity for a robotics engineer who wants to be a primary technical driver for motion planning and control on a completely unique robotic platform. You’ll work directly with custom multi-axis hardware, solving challenging problems involving motion planning, collision avoidance, kinematics, trajectory optimization, and real-world robotic execution. As part of a small, highly capable team, you’ll have significant influence over technical direction, direct access to hardware, and the opportunity to take sophisticated robotics technology from prototype through real-world deployment. If you enjoy hands‑on engineering, working close to the robot, and solving problems that don’t have an existing playbook, this role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on a category-defining technology.

Required Skills & Experience

• Deep expertise in robotic motion planning algorithms, including sampling-based methods such as RRT and RRT*, probabilistic roadmaps (PRM), and trajectory optimization techniques such as CHOMP, STOMP, or TrajOpt
• 2+ years of hands‑on experience with ROS 2 and MoveIt/MoveIt 2 in production or near‑production robotic systems
• Strong understanding of robot kinematics, including forward and inverse kinematics for serial and parallel manipulators
• Hands‑on experience with kinematic solvers such as KDL, TRAC-IK, or equivalent
• Strong understanding of collision avoidance, occupancy representations, voxel grids, OctoMap, and safety‑aware motion planning
• Experience configuring and adapting URDF/SRDF models, planning scenes, planner interfaces, joint groups, and motion profiles
• Strong proficiency in C++ and/or Python within the ROS 2 ecosystem
• Understanding of real‑time performance considerations, memory management, software architecture, and robotics software design patterns
• Proven ability to diagnose complex hardware/software integration issues, from high‑level trajectory failures to low‑level actuator constraints
• Experience developing production‑grade robotic systems capable of reliable, fast motion planning under real‑world constraints
• Experience working with dynamic obstacles, tight tolerances, and complex collision environments
• Experience with robotic simulation environments for development, testing, and validation
• Strong software engineering fundamentals, including writing clean, maintainable, well‑tested code and documenting technical designs

Desired Skills & Experience

• BS, MS, or PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field
• Experience with the Pilz Industrial Motion Planner, OMPL, CHOMP, STOMP, or other industrial motion planning frameworks
• Background in automotive service equipment, industrial automation, manufacturing systems, or complex mechatronic platforms
• Experience with real‑time trajectory execution and hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing
• Experience with safety‑rated motion control, safety interlocks, or other robotic safety systems
• Full‑stack robotics experience spanning motor control, drive systems, hardware abstraction layers (HAL), and low‑level firmware interfaces
• Experience integrating perception systems into reactive or perception‑driven motion planning
• Familiarity with LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, point clouds, PCL, Open3D, SLAM, or object detection
• Experience deploying and debugging robotic systems in the field
• Experience working with multi‑manipulator or multi‑axis robotic systems operating in confined or highly constrained environments
• Experience optimizing robotic systems for fast, repeatable, production‑ready operation

What You Will Be Doing Tech Breakdown

• 30% Motion Planning & Trajectory Optimization — Develop collision‑aware motion planning using OMPL, RRT/RRT-Connect/PRM, Pilz, CHOMP, STOMP, TrajOpt, and other planning approaches
• 20% ROS 2 & MoveIt Development — Build and maintain ROS 2 nodes, MoveIt/MoveIt 2 configurations, planning scenes, URDF/SRDF models, planner interfaces, joint groups, and trajectory execution systems
• 20% Robotics Software & Controls — Develop software for actuator state feedback, joint state publishing, trajectory execution, motion control, and hardware interfaces
• 15% Kinematics, Collision Avoidance & Safety — Define kinematic constraints, velocity/acceleration limits, collision models, safety interlocks, and joint‑specific motion profiles
• 15% Simulation, Testing & Field Deployment — Validate robotic behaviors in simulation, perform hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing, debug production hardware, and optimize motion performance during field deployments

Daily Responsibilities

• 50% Hands‑On Engineering — Write and review C++/Python code, develop motion planning algorithms, tune planners, debug trajectories, and optimize robotic performance
• 20% Hardware & Systems Integration — Work directly with robotic hardware, actuators, drives, sensors, and low‑level interfaces to ensure reliable motion execution
• 15% Testing & Validation — Build simulation and validation workflows, test collision avoidance and trajectory execution, and ensure motion planning meets production requirements
• 15% Team Collaboration — Partner with perception, systems, hardware, firmware, and software engineers to define requirements, troubleshoot integration issues, and establish technical direction

Motion Recruitment Partners (MRP) is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All applicants must be currently authorized to work on a full‑time basis in the country for which they are applying, and no sponsorship is currently available. Employment is subject to the successful completion of a pre‑employment screening. Accommodation will be provided in all parts of the hiring process as required under MRP’s Employment Accommodation policy. Applicants need to make their needs known in advance.