Sr. Robotics Field Engineer

Third Wave Automation; Union City (CA); On-site; USD 125,000 - 165,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

401(k) matching

Meals provided

Flexible schedule

Job summary

Third Wave Automation is seeking a Sr. Field Engineer to lead deployment and maintenance of autonomous forklifts at customer sites. This role requires 50-70% travel and direct customer engagement during deployment and go-live.

You will work with the Robotics Deployment Operations team to ensure successful integration, require 6+ years of field experience, and prefer Python/C++ programming along with Linux networking skills. Forklift certification is required or company training is provided.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in robotics, engineering, computer science or related field.
• 6+ years field experience coordinating with customers in robotics or automation.
• Industrial automation experience with hardware, software, and networking.
• Forklift certification or ability to obtain certification.
• Programming experience in Python and C++ preferred.

Responsibilities

• Own the site as technical lead with the Field Engineering Manager and decide go/no-go for operations.
• Lead setup, integration, and maintenance of autonomous forklifts at customer sites.
• Report fleet adoption, utilization, deployment progress, and risks to teams.
• Debug on-site stack: Linux, networking, services, logs, telemetry; write root-cause reports.
• Perform on-robot hardware work: tools, replacements, and field upgrades.
• Manage site configuration and propose future improvements for configurations.
• Interface with customer WMS and be the face of the company on site.

Skills

Customer coordination

Hardware repair

Networking

Python

C++

Troubleshooting

Documentation

Tooling & scripting

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Robotics/Engineering/CS

Tools

Linux

Shell scripting

Job description

Third Wave Automation is a rapidly growing startup that has demonstrated its core technology components, proven its market fit, and just closed its Series C funding. If you are excited about cutting edge machine learning, robotics that affects the real world, and want to join a company where your skills can have a huge impact, you’ll fit right in.

Third Wave Automation is applying modern machine learning to materials handling—delivering site-specific forklift navigation and infrastructure-free pallet handling that continuously adapts to changing floor configuration and warehouse demand.

Job Description

Third Wave Automation is looking for a Sr. Field Engineer. Our Robotics Deployment Operations team is responsible for the setup, integration, and maintenance of our autonomous forklifts at customer sites. The team works directly with customers at every stage of the process, serves as a first point of customer contact during deployment through product support, and works closely with the offsite TWA engineering team to ensure customer success. This role includes 50-70% travel.

How You Can Make an Impact

• Own the site as technical lead with the Field Engineering Manager: plan, risks, and the go / no-go call when the system is not ready for operations.
• Lead and coordinate the setup, integration, and maintenance of our autonomous forklifts at customer sites.
• Report on fleet adoption and utilization issues and metrics, including deployment progress, and effectively elevate technical risks by working closely with the Third Wave Customer Success, Product, and Engineering teams to improve product reliability and performance.
• Debug the on-site stack from first principles — Linux, networking, services, logs/telemetry, and integrations — and leave a root‑cause write‑up engineering can act on, not a workaround that fails when you leave.
• Do your own on‑robot hardware work when that is the fastest path: hand tools, parts replacement, retrofits, and field upgrades.
• Manage and maintain the site system configuration while also providing improvements for future system configurations.
• Interface and integrate with the customer warehouse management system (WMS).
• Be the face of the company to our customers.
• Work directly with the customer, serving as a first point of contact during product deployment through Go Live.
• Be a subject matter expert on how our system is deployed and operated.
• Engage with pertinent internal stakeholders to ensure clear and comprehensive training on operating the TWA fleet and best practices are provided to the customer.
• Turn what you learn on site into the system of record: implementation playbooks, optimization notes, and best practices other engineers can run without calling you.
• Support on‑site product testing and provide detailed feedback.
• Write tools and scripts that remove repetitive setup and debug work, and use LLMs and coding assistants to triage logs, draft diagnostics, and generate first‑pass fixes.
• Weekends and odd hours may be required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree or higher in Robotics, Engineering, Computer Science or related technical field.
• 6+ years of field experience coordinating with customers, being well‑versed in various robotics expertise including hardware, software, and network.
• Understanding and experience with change management processes.
• Industrial automation experience. Experience working with and repairing industrial machinery.
• Programming experience (Python, C++) preferred.
• Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills.
• Experience with standard office productivity tools (Google suite, Slack, etc.).
• Ability to write tools and scripts to automate repetitive tasks.
• Experience working in a full‑scale warehouse environment.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain forklift certification (company‑provided training and certification available).

Physical Requirements

• Bending & Stooping: Bending body downward and forward by bending spine at the waist.
• Climbing: Ascending or descending ladders, scaffolding, ramps, poles, and other devices using feet and legs and/or hands and arms. Body agility is emphasized.
• Crawling: Moving about on hands and knees or hands and feet.
• Moderate Carrying: Physically transporting items weighing 15 to 44 pounds.
• Hearing: Ability to hear enough to be able to detect specific noises, proper equipment operation; understand what employees/clients are saying in normal conversation.
• Kneeling: Bending legs at knees to come to rest on one or both knees.
• Mobility Requirement: Be able to move throughout the warehouse facilities.
• Sitting: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Standing: Particularly for sustained periods of time.
• Visual Requirement: Be able to see and read PC screens; detect color coding, read fine print, and/or normal type size print.
• Walking: Moving about on foot, particularly for long distances.

The pay range for this position is $125,000 - $165,000/yr+ benefits+equity; however, base pay offered may vary depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. Base pay information is based on market location.

More About Working Here

Our Core Values:

• Safety. We consider safety in everything we do.
• People. We care about our teammates as people.
• Encouragement. We encourage teaching, asking questions, and sharing opinions.
• Transparency. We are transparent and sincere in our actions.

A robust set of benefits and perks:

• Comprehensive benefits. Health, Dental, Vision, and a 401k matching program, to boot!
• Flexible working schedule. Be productive when you work best.
• Show & Tell. We love to learn from one another, and see the cool stuff everyone is working on!
• Meals are covered. Lunch is provided every day, and dinner for those evenings that run long.
• Stacks of snacks. Donuts are a main food group, and the snack shelf is always stocked with a wide variety of items.
• Great teammates. One of the best parts of working here!

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We value each person's expertise and experiences. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

All qualified applicants able to work in the United States are encouraged to apply. We are unable to sponsor H‑1 visas subject to fees required by the 'Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers' Presidential Proclamation dated September 21, 2025.