Robotics Software Engineer II (Boulder, CO)

PickNik•Boulder, CO

5d•Hybrid

About The Position

We are seeking a Robotics Software Engineer to join our team at PickNik. In this role, you will contribute to building the next generation of robots and see them automate dangerous and monotonous tasks in the real world. PickNik Robotics is the company behind MoveIt Pro, a software platform that combines AI and advanced motion planning to make robots work effectively. Our mission is to push the boundaries of robotics and demonstrate the potential of advanced robotics software. With a decade of experience working with leading companies like Google, Amazon, Samsung, BMW, Lockheed Martin, NASA, and numerous startups, we have developed MoveIt Pro to help companies rapidly and efficiently deploy AI to robots, unlocking new possibilities. As a Robotics Software Engineer, you will be involved in scoping, designing, and developing scalable improvements for the MoveIt Pro platform, creating software that operates on robots globally and even in space. Your work will encompass the full technology stack, from integrating robot hardware and implementing motion planning algorithms to developing platform features and APIs for customer use. This position requires a strategic approach to designing versatile solutions and the foresight to anticipate and rigorously test edge cases before production deployment. Our development process is guided by user needs across diverse industries, with robots deployed in various stages of development, from prototypes to full production environments.

Requirements

Driven to ship reliable software used in production settings to solve hard problems robotics have never done before.
Flexibility across a number of tasks beyond developing code.
Minimum 3 years of professional work experience.
Strong C++17 (or newer) experience.
Familiarity with at least one scripting language, preferably Python.
Experience with JavaScript, especially in interaction with ROS 2 applications.
Experience with robot arm hardware integration, such as trajectory controller development and driver development for commercial hardware.
Extensive knowledge of software development in Linux.
Experience with ROS 2.
Experience with full life-cycle library and application development, Git version control, software testing, and continuous integration.
Ability to travel approximately every other month to customer sites & conferences (less than 20% of the time).
Live in the Boulder/Denver area and have the ability to be in-office at least 3 days per week.
Degree(s) in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, or a related field and/or equivalent industry experience.

Nice To Haves

Advanced degrees are a plus.
Experience with multiple robot description formats, such as URDF and MJCF.
Experience with ros2_control hardware interfaces for 500+ Hz drivers.
Experience shipping and maintaining a software+hardware solution in production.
Knowledge of processes to measure and tune communication middleware.
Previous projects involving ROS 2, MoveIt 2, Nav2, Mujoco, or other robotic libraries.
General understanding of graph theory, algorithm design, simulation, motion planning, inverse kinematics, and/or control systems.
Understanding of cross-platform, multi-language package management tools such as Pixi.

Responsibilities

Scope, design, and develop scalable improvements to the MoveIt Pro platform.
Write software that runs on robots around the world.
Integrate robot hardware.
Develop motion planning algorithms.
Develop platform features and APIs for customer use.
Design singular solutions that fulfill multiple use cases.
Anticipate and test edge cases.
Debug performance issues.
Engage in pair programming on multidisciplinary regressions.
Test CUDA compatibility.
Investigate user pain points.
Travel to customer sites and conferences approximately every other month (less than 20% of the time).