Backend Software Engineer – Human-Robot Interaction

Pickle Robot Company•Charlestown, MA

About The Position

Pickle is looking for a Backend Software Engineer to join our Human-Robot Interaction team, focused on building scalable systems that support task planning and robotic workflows. This role sits at the intersection of software engineering and robotics infrastructure. You'll work closely with robotics engineers to design and build backend services that power real-world robotic systems on the warehouse floor. We're looking for a strong software engineer who cares deeply about code quality, system design, and performance — someone who can bring solid backend engineering practices into a robotics environment and isn't afraid to get close to the hardware. We're looking for a strong software engineer who cares deeply about code quality, system design, and performance — someone who wants their work to have a direct impact on how operators experience autonomous robotics in production environments. At Pickle, your code directly impacts how autonomous robots operate in production warehouses. You'll own meaningful pieces of the stack, collaborate across a tight-knit engineering team, and see the results of your work in the real world.

Requirements

2-5+ years of experience in backend or distributed systems engineering
Strong programming experience in Python
Experience building or supporting web applications using Flask or REST API
Experience with C++ or another strongly typed language (e.g., Rust, Go, Java)
Strong understanding of software architecture, concurrency, and distributed system design
Experience building or supporting event-driven systems, messaging frameworks, or service-oriented architectures
Experience developing systems that interface with hardware, robotics, or real-world operational environments is a plus

Nice To Haves

Experience working across multiple programming languages
Familiarity with distributed systems or microservices architectures
Exposure to robotics, autonomy, or hardware-integrated systems
Experience with messaging systems (e.g., Kafka, ROS, or similar)
Experience with Human-Robot Interaction

Responsibilities

Design and build backend services supporting front-end systems
Develop scalable, reliable, and performant systems using Python
Contribute to system architecture and service design within the team
Build and maintain event-driven systems and messaging-based architectures
Collaborate closely with robotics engineers to integrate backend systems with real-world workflows
Improve system performance, reliability, and maintainability across services
Participate in code reviews and technical discussions to elevate engineering standards