Senior Robotics SWE, System Identification & Modeling

Nimble Robotics; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 190,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited Flexible Time Off

Health Insurance (medical, dental, vision)

Paid Parental Leave

Commuter Benefits

Referral Bonus

401k retirement planning

Equity program

Job summary

Nimble Robotics is seeking a Senior Robotics Software Engineer in San Francisco to enhance their next-generation autonomous robots. This role focuses on developing software for system identification and modeling. You'll work with multi-disciplinary teams to ensure robots operate efficiently and reliably.

The ideal candidate has extensive experience in robotics software, with skills in dynamics modeling and embedded systems integration. Competitive compensation package includes a salary range of $190,000 to $250,000 annually, along with equity and comprehensive benefits.

Qualifications

• Minimum 5+ years of software engineering experience with production robotics systems.
• Proficient in dynamics, controls, and system identification.
• Experience with real electromechanical systems and embedded systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute system identification experiments for robots.
• Own kinematic calibration workflows.
• Build automated calibration tooling for production hardware.

Skills

Dynamics, controls, and system identification

Software engineering

Embedded systems integration

Communication skills

Programming in Rust, Python, or C++

Education

Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Robotics or related field

Tools

Physics simulators (MuJoCo, Drake, Isaac Sim)

ROS/ROS 2

Job description

About the Role

We are looking for a Senior Robotics Software Engineer specializing in System Identification and Modeling to build the core software powering our next-generation autonomous robots. In this role, you will develop and maintain the mathematical models, parameter estimation pipelines, and feedforward/feedback control systems that allow our robots to operate with exceptional reliability, precision, and efficiency in real production environments. You will work across the full robotics and autonomy stack — building robust, production-grade software that scales as we deploy more robots into high-throughput operations — while serving as the team's deep expert in system identification, dynamics modeling, and model-based control. You'll collaborate closely with AI, hardware, controls, and infrastructure teams to integrate frontier AI capabilities with rigorous physics-based models, continually improving robot uptime, performance, and overall intelligence.

Responsibilities

• Design and execute system identification experiments for actuators, mechanisms, and full robot subsystems — motors, arms, elevators, drivetrains — fitting dynamic models via regression and curve‑fitting to derive accurate feedforward and feedback controllers.
• Own kinematic calibration workflows: DH parameter identification, wheel radius estimation, and tool‑center‑point calibration to drive measurable improvements in arm accuracy and mobile base odometry.
• Build automated calibration and sys‑id tooling that runs on production hardware, enabling rapid re‑characterization after mechanical changes, wear, or new platform deployments.
• Lead design and implementation of robot behaviors and task‑level intelligence across the full stack, integrating perception, planning, and control into reliable end‑to‑end execution across nominal and edge‑case scenarios.
• Drive measurable improvements in autonomy quality and arm accuracy using data, operational metrics, and model validation (diagnostic plots, residual analysis, statistical benchmarks).
• Collaborate with hardware engineering on software–hardware integration for new platforms and upgrades; triage and resolve production robotics issues.
• Lead technical design reviews, drive architecture decisions for core subsystems, and mentor engineers and technicians on reliability, testing, and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's, Master's, or PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 5+ years of software engineering experience building production robotics systems.
• Strong foundation in dynamics, controls, and system identification — including least‑squares regression, parameter estimation, state‑space and transfer‑function modeling, and feedforward/feedback controller design.
• Hands‑on experience characterizing real electromechanical systems: motors, gearboxes, linear actuators, articulated arms, or similar mechanisms.
• Strong proficiency in at least one of the following: Rust, Python, C++.
• Proven ability to design, implement, and maintain complex, high‑reliability software systems.
• Experience integrating software with sensors, actuators, and embedded systems.
• Familiarity with software best practices including testing, documentation, code reviews, and robust architectural design.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to collaborate across multi‑disciplinary teams.
• Willingness to support production operations through an on‑call rotation.

Nice to Have

• Graduate‑level coursework or research in system identification, optimal estimation, or adaptive control.
• Experience with nonlinear system identification techniques (e.g., extended Kalman filters, particle filters, neural‑network‑based model learning).
• Familiarity with physics simulators (MuJoCo, Drake, Isaac Sim) and sim‑to‑real transfer, including using identified parameters to calibrate simulation environments.
• Experience with real‑time embedded system development, RTOS, or bare‑metal firmware.
• Exposure to automation environments such as warehousing, manufacturing, or logistics.
• Experience with safety‑critical systems.
• Familiarity with ROS/ROS 2 and standard robotics middleware.
• Experience building data pipelines for collecting, storing, and analyzing robot telemetry at scale.

Compensation & Benefits

The pay range for this position at the start of employment is expected to be between $190,000 and $250,000/year. Your exact offer may vary depending on multiple individualized factors, including job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. In addition to cash compensation, this position will also receive generous equity for this position.

Benefits

• Unlimited Flexible Time Off
• Health Insurance (medical, dental, vision)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Commuter Benefits
• Referral Bonus
• 401k retirement planning
• Equity program

Equal Opportunity & Diversity Statement

Nimble Robotics, Inc. is an equal opportunity employer. We make all employment decisions based solely on merit. We provide equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable state, federal or local laws.