Senior Robotics SDE, Safe Autonomy, Compass
About The Position
We are seeking a robotics Software Dev Engineer to join Compass. In this role, you will own the integration of the Compass software into various platforms, including mobile robots, mobile manipulators, and legged robots. You will interface with motion planning, sensing and perception, and safety firmware and create abstractions that enable the Compass software to be easily deployed across millions of robots. Work with the inventors of control barrier functions on a novel, universal approach to safe autonomy: one that scales across mobile robots, manipulators, mobile manipulators, and future robot platforms with dynamic stability. You'll push the boundary of safe performance by integrating safety with motion planning, RL, and foundation models, ensuring that safety is never a blocker to robot performance. Your work will underpin robots operating alongside people at Amazon's unprecedented scale.
Requirements
- 5+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- 5+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience
- 5+ years of leading design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- Experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team
- Proficiency in C++, Rust, and/or Python with experience writing production-quality code for real-time systems
- Experience developing software for robotic systems, embedded platforms, or safety-critical applications
- Familiarity with robotics middleware (e.g., ROS/ROS2) and real-time communication frameworks
- Experience designing software abstractions, APIs, or hardware abstraction layers for multi-platform deployment
- Strong understanding of software engineering best practices including version control, CI/CD, code review, and testing
Nice To Haves
- 5+ years of full software development life cycle, including coding standards, code reviews, source control management, build processes, testing, and operations experience
- Master's or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Controls, or a related field
- Experience integrating software with motion planners, perception pipelines, or control systems on physical robots
- Familiarity with control barrier functions, safety-critical control, or formal safety verification methods
- Experience with real-time operating systems (RTOS) or safety-rated firmware interfaces (e.g., IEC 61508, ISO 13849)
- Hands-on experience with multiple robot morphologies (mobile bases, arms, legged platforms)
- Experience with reinforcement learning or foundation model deployment on robotic systems
- Track record of building software that scales from prototype to fleet-level production
- Familiarity with simulation environments for robotics
- Strong communication skills and experience working in cross-functional, research-adjacent teams
Responsibilities
- Design, implement, and maintain the software integration layer that enables Compass safety modules to interface with diverse robot platforms (mobile robots, manipulators, dynamically stable robots)
- Build robust abstractions and APIs that decouple safety logic from platform-specific hardware, enabling rapid deployment across new robot form factors
- Collaborate with motion planning, perception, and controls teams to ensure seamless data flow and real-time performance between safety systems and autonomy stacks
- Develop and maintain interfaces to safety-rated firmware and hardware, ensuring compliance with functional safety requirements
- Architect scalable, production-grade software that can operate reliably across millions of deployed robots
- Write high-quality, well-tested, and maintainable code in C++ and/or Python for real-time robotics applications
- Define integration testing strategies and build simulation-based validation pipelines to verify safety behavior across platforms
- Contribute to system design reviews, technical documentation, and cross-team alignment on interface contracts
- Identify and resolve performance bottlenecks in real-time safety-critical software paths
- Mentor junior engineers and raise the bar on software engineering practices within the team
Benefits
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Coverage
- Maternity and Parental Leave Options
- Paid Time Off (PTO)
- 401(k) Plan
- sign-on payments
- restricted stock units (RSUs)
- health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage)
- 401(k) matching
- paid time off
- parental leave
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
