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Principal Software Engineer, Robot Software

Necessary Ventures · Sunnyvale, CA · Yesterday
Engineering$296k–$375k/yrFull-time

About the role

The Principal Software Engineer - Robot Software will partner with leadership to define a 12-24 month technical roadmap, chart a course to align, upgrade, and enhance existing systems, and balance the organization’s technical debt against new feature velocity. They will lead the design of complex, cross-functional systems, set the bar for code quality, engineering excellence, and technical mentorship.

Responsibilities

  • Partner with leadership to define a 12-24 month technical roadmap
  • Chart a course to align, upgrade, and enhance existing systems to meet customer demands and improve internal efficiency
  • Identify emerging technologies that will keep the company ahead of the curve
  • Balance the organization’s technical debt against new feature velocity
  • Lead the design of complex, cross-functional systems
  • Ensure that the "Robot" layer integrates seamlessly with the broader Embodied AI algorithms (e.g. driving) while maintaining safety and performance constraints
  • Set the bar for code quality, testing rigor, and observability
  • Lead design reviews for critical components of the stack and "unblock" teams facing deep-seated architectural debt
  • Observe common challenges across disparate workstreams (e.g., latency spikes or data serialization bottlenecks) and champion centralized, reusable solutions that benefit the entire Robot Software organization
  • Act as the technical bridge between Robot Software and neighboring departments like Hardware, Production Software, Simulation, Application Software, Data Platform, and DevOps to ensure hardware-software parity and efficient data flywheels
  • Identify dependencies and risks that live in the "seams" between projects ensuring, e.g., that the impacts from a change in the sensor drivers is proactively understood and cascaded by joint analysis with the behaviors and simulation teams
  • Cultivate a culture of excellence by growing Senior and Staff engineers through high-level coaching and by modeling principled decision-making
  • Demonstrate the "T-shaped" leadership required to oversee a diverse portfolio of initiatives ranging from providing high-level directional steering on long-term R&D projects to performing "deep-dive" investments on critical path blockers

Requirements

Essential Domain Expertise: Deep experience in Robotics Middleware (ROS2, Cyber RT, or custom IPCs) and Real-Time Systems.
Languages: Mastery of C++ (17/20) with a focus on memory management and concurrency. Proficiency in Python.
Architectural Depth: Proven track record of shipping complex autonomous systems, distributed systems, or safety-critical embedded software.
Problem Solving: Ability to debug "impossible" problems across the boundary of hardware and software.
Leadership: Exceptional communication skills; ability to explain complex technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.
Safety Above All: Understands that in the world of self-driving, "moving fast and breaking things" isn't an option.

Qualifications

Experience: Deep experience in Robotics Middleware (ROS2, Cyber RT, or custom IPCs) and Real-Time Systems.
Languages: Mastery of C++ (17/20) with a focus on memory management and concurrency. Proficiency in Python.
Architectural Depth: Proven track record of shipping complex autonomous systems, distributed systems, or safety-critical embedded software.
Problem Solving: Ability to debug "impossible" problems across the boundary of hardware and software.
Leadership: Exceptional communication skills; ability to explain complex technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.
Safety Above All: Understands that in the world of self-driving, "moving fast and breaking things" isn't an option.

Skills

Deep experience in Robotics Middleware (ROS2, Cyber RT, or custom IPCs) and Real-Time Systems.
Mastery of C++ (17/20) with a focus on memory management and concurrency.
Proficiency in Python.
Proven track record of shipping complex autonomous systems, distributed systems, or safety-critical embedded software.
Ability to debug "impossible" problems across the boundary of hardware and software.
Exceptional communication skills; ability to explain complex technical trade-offs to non-technical stakeholders.
Understands that in the world of self-driving, "moving fast and breaking things" isn't an option.

Benefits

Full-time role based in Sunnyvale, CA (hybrid)
Reasonably estimated salary range: $295,500 to $375,100
Competitive equity package

Pay

Reasonably estimated salary range: $295,500 to $375,100

Schedule

Full-time role based in Sunnyvale, CA (hybrid)

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