Senior Robotics Motion Planning Engineer

Key Responsibilities

• Lead software system definition and integration of custom multi-axis hardware, handling URDF/SRDF modeling, planner selection and tuning, axis grouping, and defining joint-specific motion profiles
• Engineer fast, efficient collision-aware trajectory planning that can adapt to environmental obstacles and internal kinematic limits
• Develop path planning solutions using OMPL (RRT, RRT-Connect, PRM) and evaluate deterministic alternatives (i.e., Pilz Industrial Motion Planner) for repeatable, production-safe trajectories
• Work with the motion team to build and maintain ROS 2 nodes for real-time actuator state feedback, joint state publishing, and trajectory execution against robotic hardware interfaces
• Collaborate with systems and hardware engineering to define kinematic constraints, velocity/acceleration limits, and safety interlocks for each axis of motion
• Debug and optimize motion performance in the field during site deployments — this is a bring-your-laptop-to-the-robot role when needed
• Write clean, testable code that can be maintained and extended; document your designs clearly for cross-functional audiences

Requirements

• Deep expertise in motion planning algorithms, including sampling-based methods (e.g., RRT, RRT*), probabilistic roadmaps (PRM), and trajectory optimization techniques (e.g., CHOMP, STOMP, TrajOpt) with a strong preference for 2+ years of hands-on experience with MoveIt or MoveIt 2 in production or near-production systems
• Strong problem solving skills with a proven ability to diagnose and resolve complex hardware-software integration issues, from high-level trajectory failures to low-level actuator constraints
• Solid understanding of collision avoidance strategies, occupancy representations (e.g., OctoMap, voxel grids), and safety-aware planning
• Proven ability to build production-grade systems that achieve reliable, sub-second planning under real-world constraints including dynamic obstacles and tight tolerances
• Strong proficiency in C++ and/or Python within the ROS2 ecosystem, with a firm grasp of real-time performance considerations, memory management, and software design patterns

Qualifications

• BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field
• Background in automotive service equipment, industrial automation, or other mechatronic systems outside of traditional robot arms
• Experience with real-time trajectory execution, hardware-in-the-loop testing, or safety-rated motion control
• Full-stack robotics experience spanning motor control and drive systems, hardware abstraction layers (HAL), and low-level firmware interfacing
• Exposure to sensor integration and perception, including LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, and point cloud processing (e.g., PCL, Open3D), SLAM, or object detection as it pertains to reactive and perception-driven motion planning