Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Robot Behaviors

Agility Robotics; Iowa (LA); Hybrid; USD 190,000 - 296,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k) plan

Equity

Medical/Dental/Vision insurance

Unlimited PTO

Relocation assistance

Annual discretionary bonus

Job summary

Agility Robotics seeks a Staff Robotics Software Engineer (Tech Lead) to own end-to-end robot behavior design, from high-level task logic to on-robot validation and deployment. You will work at the intersection of behavior planning, motion planning, perception, and manipulation, while mentoring engineers and guiding technical direction.

You will lead complex humanoid robot behaviors, integrate with hardware and perception systems, and push capabilities into new task classes, all within a

Qualifications

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science, or related engineering field.
• 8+ years of professional robotics software experience.
• Proven experience as a tech lead or senior technical owner for complex robotics projects.
• Proficient in Python and C++, and able to contribute to large codebases.
• Experience with behavior trees, state machines, task planners, or similar planning frameworks.
• Strong system-level understanding of how motion planning, perception, controls, estimation, and hardware interact on real robots.
• Experience with data pipelines and optimizing for performance and robustness.

Responsibilities

• Own the design, implementation, and validation of complex humanoid robot behaviors.
• Lead behavior planning and execution design, including task decomposition and recovery.
• Develop new autonomy capabilities and evaluate manipulation strategies for new tasks and environments.
• Integrate robot behaviors with motion planning, controls, perception, estimation, and hardware systems.
• Mentor engineers through design reviews, code reviews, and hands-on guidance.
• Help set technical direction and best practices for robust, reusable robot behaviors.

Skills

Python

C++

Robotics software

Tech lead

Behavior trees/state machines

Autonomy systems

Planning frameworks

Education

B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science, or related engineering field

Job description

Agility’s commercially deployed humanoids operate alongside teams in warehouses, manufacturing facilities, and distribution centers—tackling physically demanding and repetitive tasks while enabling workers to focus on higher-value work. With industry-leading safety standards and years of proven deployment data, we’re pioneering a new era of automation that enhances human potential.

About the Role

We are looking for a Staff Robotics Software Engineer (Tech Lead) to lead the design and development of robot behaviors that expand and generalize our humanoid robot’s capabilities. In this role, you will own behavior design end-to-end, from high-level task logic and system design down to on-robot validation and deployment. You will work at the intersection of behavior planning, motion planning, object perception, and manipulation, developing new autonomy capabilities and pushing the robot into new classes of tasks. We are looking for a hands‑on technical leader who can set technical direction and wants to stay close to the robot: writing code, running experiments, debugging logs, working with hardware, and mentoring other engineers by building alongside them.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the design, implementation, and validation of complex humanoid robot behaviors.
• Lead behavior planning and execution design, including task decomposition, control flow, recovery, and failure handling.
• Build new autonomy capabilities that expand what the robot can reliably do in the real world.
• Develop and evaluate manipulation strategies for new tasks, objects, workflows, and customer environments.
• Integrate robot behaviors with motion planning, controls, object perception, estimation, and hardware systems.
• Train, evaluate, and integrate learned policies into hybrid learned/classical execution workflows.
• Integrate new end effectors, tools, sensors, and other hardware capabilities into the behavior stack.
• Debug complex system-level failures using logs, replay, metrics, simulation, and on-robot experimentation.
• Mentor engineers through design reviews, code reviews, debugging, and hands‑on technical guidance.
• Help set technical direction and best practices for building robust, composable, reusable, and generalizable robot behaviors.

About You

• B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related engineering field.
• 8+ years of professional experience developing robotics software, autonomy systems, robot behaviors, or related real‑world robotic capabilities.
• Demonstrated experience as a tech lead or senior technical owner for complex robotics projects.
• Proficient in Python and C++, and comfortable contributing to large, long‑lived codebases.
• Experience with behavior trees, state machines, task planners, hierarchical planning, or similar behavior‑planning frameworks.
• Strong system‑level understanding of how motion planning, object perception, controls, estimation, and hardware interact on real robots.
• Experience working with complex algorithms and data pipelines, with an ability to optimize for performance, robustness, and scalability.
• Experience collaborating closely with perception, planning, controls, hardware, product, or field teams.
• Strong ownership mindset with a focus on robustness, generalization, and real‑world reliability.

Bonus Qualifications

• Experience developing manipulation strategies for complex or unstructured environments.
• Experience with learned robot skills, including imitation learning, reinforcement learning, or hybrid learned/classical execution strategies.
• Experience deploying and supporting autonomous robots in real customer environments.

This is a hybrid role based out of one of our Salem, OR, Pittsburgh, PA, or Fremont, CA offices.

The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to: market location, job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. This range may change based on geographical location and may be modified in the future.

Anticipated Salary Range

$190,000—$296,000 USD

In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of the following for full‑time employees:

• 401(k) Plan:Includes a 6% company match.
• Equity: Company stock options.
• Insurance Coverage: 100% company‑paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long‑term disability insurance for employees.
• Benefit Start Date: Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
• Well‑Being Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Time Off:
  • Exempt Employees: Flexible, unlimited PTO and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
  • Non‑Exempt Employees: 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.
• On‑Site Perks: Catered lunches four times a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
• Parental Leave: Generous paid parental leave programs.
• Work Environment: A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
• Growth Opportunities: Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.
• Relocation Assistance: Provided for eligible roles.
• Annual Discretionary Bonus: Provided for eligible roles.

All of our roles are U.S.-based. Applicants must have current authorization to work in the United States.

Agility Robotics is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. Each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal employment opportunities and prohibits unlawful discriminatory practices, including harassment. Therefore, it is the policy of Agility Robotics to ensure equal employment opportunity without discrimination or harassment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, marital status, citizenship, national origin, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Agility Robotics prohibits any such discrimination or harassment.

Agility Robotics does not accept unsolicited referrals from third‑party recruiting agencies. We prioritize direct applicants and encourage all qualified candidates to apply directly through our careers page. If you are represented by a third party, your application may not be considered. To ensure full consideration, please apply directly.