Senior Robotics Motion Planning Engineer

About the role

A fast-growing robotics company in the Boston area is reinventing automotive service through cutting-edge robotics and automation. Their technology combines ROS 2, MoveIt 2, multi-axis robotic systems, motion planning, collision avoidance, and advanced trajectory control to automate tire changing and wheel balancing. This is a unique opportunity for a Senior Robotics Engineer to become the technical owner of motion planning for a robotic platform unlike anything you've worked on before. You'll be working directly with physical robots—not just simulations—solving challenging problems around multi-axis motion, kinematics, collision avoidance, and real-time trajectory execution. The team is small, highly technical, and hands-on, giving you the opportunity to have a major influence on architecture and technical direction while taking your robotics expertise from development all the way into real-world production and field deployment.

What you will be doing

• Tech Breakdown: 40% C++ / Python / ROS 2 / MoveIt 2, 25% Motion Planning / Kinematics / Trajectory Optimization, 20% Robotics Hardware Integration & Testing, 15% Simulation / Debugging / System Development
• Daily Responsibilities: 50% Hands On, 0% Management Duties, 50% Team Collaboration

Required skills & experience

• 2+ years of hands-on experience with MoveIt or MoveIt 2 in production or near-production systems
• Deep expertise in motion planning algorithms including RRT, RRT*, PRM, CHOMP, STOMP, or TrajOpt
• Strong C++ and/or Python experience within the ROS 2 ecosystem
• Strong understanding of forward and inverse kinematics
• Experience with kinematic solvers such as KDL, TRAC-IK, or equivalent
• Experience with collision avoidance and safety-aware motion planning
• Experience configuring URDF/SRDF models and planning scenes
• Experience working with robotic hardware and actuator constraints
• Strong understanding of velocity, acceleration, and joint limits
• Experience developing production-grade robotics software
• Experience with robotic simulation environments

Desired skills & experience

• BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
• Experience with industrial automation, automotive equipment, or complex mechatronic systems
• Experience with multi-manipulator or non-traditional robotic platforms
• Experience with real-time trajectory execution or hardware-in-the-loop testing
• Experience with safety-rated motion control
• Experience with motor control, drive systems, HAL, or low-level firmware
• Experience with LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, PCL, Open3D, SLAM, or point cloud processing
• Experience with perception-driven or reactive motion planning

Benefits

• Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Vacation Time
• Stock Options