Robotics Engineer, Autonomy

About Contoro

Contoro Robotics is an Austin-based startup focused on warehouse automation. We design a state-of-the-art autonomous truck unloading system capable of lifting boxes over 60 lbs.

Role

We are hiring a robotics software engineer to contribute to the motion planning and autonomous behavior systems on our unloading robot. You will work with senior engineers to advance specific autonomy modules - including grasp planning, trajectory execution, collision avoidance, and behavior logic. These systems run in production across a fleet of active robots.

Responsibilities

• Contribute and advance specific motion planning modules, including grasp planning, trajectory generation, and collision avoidance
• Contribute to the behavior tree that governs the robot's autonomous unloading cycle, including pick selection, drop verification, and error recovery
• Improve pick success rate and cycle time through software changes
• Debug and resolve production issues through remote log analysis and telemetry
• Write and maintain automated tests for motion planning and behavior logic
• Collaborate with perception, hardware, and trajectory optimization engineers on cross-system integration
• Participate in design reviews and contribute to module-level technical decisions

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
• 3+ years of professional experience developing software for deployed robotic systems
• Proficiency in C++ and Python in production robotics environments
• Experience with ROS and motion planning frameworks (e.g., MoveIt)
• Working knowledge of kinematics, inverse kinematics, and collision avoidance for manipulators
• Experience with behavior trees or state machines for robot autonomy
• Strong debugging skills and the ability to diagnose issues in production systems
• Familiarity with Linux-based development environments

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with industrial manipulators (KUKA, ABB, Fanuc, UR, or similar)
• Familiarity with grasp planning and manipulation under occlusion
• Familiarity with occupancy mapping for collision avoidance
• Experience with Docker-based deployment and cloud-based logging/monitoring
• Prior work in warehouse automation, surgical robotics, logistics, or pick-and-place applications