Machine Learning Software Engineer

Foundational Industries • San Francisco, CA

1d

About The Position

Foundational is building a network of AI-native autonomous factories for modern contract manufacturing, with the goal of reshoring critical supply chains and enabling high-quality domestic production. The Machine Learning Software Engineer will build software systems for advanced robotic and autonomous platforms used in industrial and automation environments, supporting motion planning, kinematics, perception, and real-time control.

The role focuses on developing software for Foundational’s AI-native manufacturing platform, from first principles through production. The engineer will design, develop, test, and deploy robotic software; build perception pipelines; implement and optimize robotic algorithms; integrate software with physical systems; and validate robotic behavior through simulation and testing. The position involves working with cross-functional controls, hardware, artificial intelligence, and operations teams in a demanding startup environment.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or foreign equivalent in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Mathematics, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, or a closely related technical field.
• At least three years of progressive, post-baccalaureate professional experience in software development, specifically developing software for robotic or autonomous systems.
• Proficiency in software development using Python and/or C++.
• Demonstrated experience using ROS or ROS2 for robotic system development.
• Foundational knowledge of motion planning, kinematics, or robotic control algorithms.
• Experience integrating software systems with physical hardware components, such as sensors, actuators, or industrial equipment.
• Ability to debug and troubleshoot across software-hardware boundaries.
• Familiarity with real-time or embedded systems concepts.

Nice To Haves

• Experience developing and configuring software components within robotic operating frameworks such as ROS/ROS2 for industrial robotic arms, collaborative robots, or autonomous material-handling systems.
• Experience in industrial automation, manufacturing, or factory environments.
• Experience with computer vision libraries such as OpenCV or PCL, or depth-sensing hardware such as LiDAR or RGB-D.
• Familiarity with industrial communication protocols such as OPC UA, MQTT, Modbus, or EtherCAT.
• Experience using physics-based simulation platforms for robotic validation.
• Familiarity with machine-learning frameworks applied to robotic perception, control, or physical AI foundation models.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain scalable software architectures and real-time control systems for robotic platforms using C++ and/or Python.
• Build and integrate perception software, including computer vision, depth sensing, and point cloud processing, to help robotic systems interpret dynamic environments.
• Write, optimize, and validate motion-planning and kinematics algorithms for object manipulation, path planning, obstacle avoidance, and multi-axis motion control.
• Integrate robotic software with physical hardware, sensors, actuators, programmable logic controllers (PLCs), and standard industrial communication protocols.
• Build, maintain, and use simulation environments to test, validate, and benchmark robotic behaviors and control algorithms before physical deployment.
• Debug, analyze, and resolve software, firmware, and hardware-software integration issues in active operational environments.
• Collaborate with controls, hardware, and artificial intelligence engineering teams to deploy and iterate on production-ready robotic systems.

Benefits

• Base compensation, bonus, and equity reflecting impact, responsibility, and results, with meaningful upside for people who help build and scale the company.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level