Senior Firmware Engineer

Pickle Robot Company • Charlestown, MA

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Pickle is on the hunt for a dynamic and driven Senior Firmware Engineer to help us revolutionize the future of warehouse automation. This is a senior individual contributor role at the intersection of low-level embedded systems and high-level robotics software — the crucial link between Pickle's physical hardware peripherals and its intelligent, distributed software platform. At this level, you won't just be executing on well-defined problems — you'll be shaping how we approach firmware architecture, setting engineering standards, and mentoring a growing team. Your contributions will directly impact the efficiency, safety, and reliability of Pickle's autonomous truck-unloading robots, which operate in real warehouses every day.

Requirements

• You bring 5–7 years of professional software development experience with demonstrated excellence in the physical layer of complex systems, safety PLCs, motor control, sensor acquisition, and real-time control loops.
• You have deep proficiency in Python and object-oriented programming, writing clean, maintainable, well-tested code that scales.
• You're also strong in C and/or C++ for embedded systems development, including microcontrollers, RTOS environments, and embedded development toolchains.
• Hands-on experience with real-time operating systems, PLCs, and embedded development tools is a given, and you're comfortable picking up an oscilloscope to debug input/output problems, as at home on the bench as you are in the codebase.
• You have a proven ability to read the manual for a complex peripheral, a rangefinder, a motor controller, and a robotic arm, and to collaborate with vendor support engineers to push them to the edge of their capabilities.
• You're experienced with version control via GitHub and collaborative development workflows
• You communicate complex technical tradeoffs clearly to both engineering peers and non-technical stakeholders, and your detail-oriented, problem-solving nature makes you someone others rely on when things get hard.
• You hold a Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or have equivalent practical experience.
• You're genuinely excited about robotics, automation, and building physical AI systems that work reliably in the real world.

Nice To Haves

• familiarity with relevant safety standards such as ISO 13849, IEC 62046, ANSI B11, or ANSI RIA R15 is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• You'll discover how to use new peripherals and extend the functionality of existing ones within our robotic system, often requiring complex configuration files or programming in a vendor's specialized language.
• You'll configure and program devices, including PLCs, motor controllers, and safety systems, and implement communication via Modbus, PROFIsafe, CAN, Ethernet, and similar protocols.
• Working closely with hardware and software teams, you'll design clean, well-documented APIs between peripherals and Pickle's object-oriented, distributed platform, and characterize the performance of peripheral interfaces to design and implement meaningful improvements.
• You'll design and implement safety-critical features, including emergency stop mechanisms, collision-avoidance systems, and other safety-related functionality.
• To support this, you'll develop Python scripts, test harnesses, and debugging tools to verify the reliability and safety of firmware across the system — ensuring that what we build works dependably in the real world.
• You'll drive design and code reviews, raising quality standards across the firmware team and fostering a culture of technical excellence.
• Beyond your own work, you'll actively contribute to improving development processes, tooling, and documentation as the team and product continue to scale.

Benefits

• best-in-class benefits including health, dental, & vision insurance
• unlimited vacation, along with all federal and state holidays
• 401K contributions of 5% your salary
• travel supplies, and other items to make your working life more fun, comfortable, and productive

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Number of Employees: 11-50 employees