Robotics Validation & Release Engineer

AES Corporation is the largest US-based global power company with 8,300 employees across 12 countries. Ranked #1 by BloombergNEF in renewable energy sales to corporations in the US and Americas for five consecutive years, AES provides electricity for millions worldwide. The company fosters a strong workplace culture, recognized in Great Place to Work™ rankings, and has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 13 consecutive years. AES is a seven-time winner of the Edison Electric Institute’s Edison Awards for global leadership in advancing the electric power industry.

About the role

As a Robotics Validation & Release Engineer, you will lead the end-to-end validation and release strategy for the software powering Maximo, our solar module installation robotic system. This includes testing and validating perception, autonomy, controls, safety, and system services before deployment to production robots on active construction sites. You will establish release criteria, quality gates, and validation plans that scale with fleet growth, ensuring performance, reliability, and safety requirements are met. This role involves troubleshooting complex challenges, collaborating with cross-functional teams, and ensuring seamless integration, verification, and validation of Maximo’s software.

Responsibilities

• Define validation strategy and test coverage expectations across unit, integration, system, regression, and endurance testing.
• Own the software release process end-to-end, from release planning through deployment and post-release verification.
• Build and maintain a release readiness framework (entry/exit criteria, go/no-go checklists, sign-offs, and rollback plans).
• Develop and maintain CI pipelines and automated regression suites; ensure results are visible, actionable, and trusted.
• Coordinate system-level verification across simulation, HIL, lab rigs, and field test robots; standardize test environments.
• Establish performance benchmarks and acceptance thresholds for critical behaviors (accuracy, latency, stability, uptime, safety).
• Partner with engineering and product leads to translate product requirements into testable acceptance criteria and validation plans.
• Own release documentation including release notes, known issues, validation reports, and deployment playbooks.
• Ensure safe deployment practices and alignment with applicable safety standards and operational constraints in the field.
• Establish verification and validation practices: architecture reviews, test plans, performance benchmarks, and traceability from requirements to tests.
• Design, develop, implement, and troubleshoot robotics systems, including servomotors, automation sensors, vision systems, battery management, and safety components.
• Ensure seamless integration of robotic systems with other components and systems.
• Conduct rigorous testing and validation of robotics systems to meet performance and safety requirements.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate robotics solutions into complex systems.
• Build scenario libraries (terrain/slope, occlusions, lighting, sensor noise) and acceptance metrics.
• Support simulation-to-field correlation by validating sensor models vs. real logs and closing gaps between simulation and field testing.
• Develop and maintain robotic system architecture, ensuring continuous improvement and innovation.
• Design, develop, and implement advanced algorithms for real-time tasks such as trajectory generation, motion control, and system optimization.
• Research, develop, implement, and test new capabilities for industrial robotics.

Requirements

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• 6+ years of work experience in robotics systems.
• Proven track record owning releases for systems that include embedded/real-time components and hardware interfaces.
• Hands-on experience with automated testing frameworks, CI/CD, and test infrastructure (e.g., Python tooling, Docker, build systems).
• Experience designing test plans and validation strategies for autonomy/robotics or safety-critical systems is strongly preferred.
• Strong debugging skills across software/hardware boundaries; ability to reproduce and isolate field issues systematically.
• Comfort with uncertainty and fast iteration; ability to balance speed and rigor while maintaining high quality standards.
• Strong theoretical foundation in robotics software and system architecture.
• Strong programming skills in languages such as C++ and Python.
• Proficiency in ROS2 and experience with ROS hardware integration.
• Experience with robotics simulation and digital twins.
• Experience with middleware and networking considerations (DDS, QoS, latency/jitter, time synchronization) in distributed robotic systems.
• Proven track record of successfully delivering complex robotics systems to market.
• Knowledge of robotics platforms and sensor systems.
• Entrepreneurial passion for solving robotics problems and pushing boundaries; "make it happen" attitude.
• Capability to work dynamically and collaboratively across multiple teams in a fast-paced environment with minimal supervision.
• Excellent communication skills and results-oriented mindset; comfortable with ambiguity and no compromise on quality.
• Demonstrated ability to understand solar engineering and technology concepts; technical understanding of automation, robotics, computer vision, machine learning, or AI is a plus.

Benefits

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• Life insurance.
• 401(k) eligibility.
• Paid time off (including vacation, sick leave, and parental leave).
• Annual bonus.

Pay

Base pay offered ranges between $145,000 and $181,050/year, depending on market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

Schedule

• Start date: ASAP.
• 60% travel required.