Principal Robotic Controls Engineer

Principal Robotic Controls Engineer

Time type: full time

Posted on: December 12, 2023

Job requisition id: R2956

What we do 
We are a talented team of roboticists working on the heart of Symbotic's automation solution - Symbot, the mobile robot. We are responsible for delivering solutions for the storage and retrieval use cases performed in a fully autonomous structure operating hundreds of Symbots at each facility across a network of customer sites. 

What we need 
Symbotic is currently seeking a Principal Robotic Controls Engineer to join our Mobile Robotics Control team. In this position you will develop embedded control software for our fleet of autonomous mobile robots for inventory distribution management. This role focuses primarily on development of our integrated test and self-diagnostic capabilities that will run across our network of production sites on thousands of robots. The role requires excellent communication skills and the ability to collaborate in a highly cross-functional environments along with strong technical problem-solving skills and passion to tackle real world challenges in robotics. 
 
What you will do: 

• Implement control strategies for autonomous mobile robots for inventory distribution management 

• Develop and document high quality and robust embedded C++ software 

• Provide technical leadership to the broader mobile robotic controls team to deliver quality solutions that support high volume production environments 

• Work closely with teammates from application software, safety controls, robot controls, UX/UI, and site operations to design effective tests and diagnostics that address real issues encountered in operations 

• Serve as technical lead on controls team projects by scoping and defining workstreams, guide project team members in their efforts, and work with project management team to schedule and track progress 

• Troubleshoot system problems in production by working with and leading cross-functional teams to investigate and root-cause performance issues 

• Identify and monitor KPIs to evaluate and improve the performance of our robots and overall system solution 

• Be a proactive communicator who enjoys working closely with creative and technical peers 

• Be an active forward-looking participant in maintaining and extending our system architecture and ensuring the health of our codebase 

• Lead and mentor junior engineers 

• Work in a dynamic Agile/Scrum based environment 

• Occasional (10-15%) travel to customer sites is required 

What you will need: 

• Bachelor, Masters, or PhD in Computer Science, Electrical/Computer Engineering, Robotics, Aerospace or related discipline 

• 8-12 years of demonstrated experience in development of algorithms for mobile robot motion planning and control 

• Demonstrated ability to deliver robotics software products deployed in the real world 

• Knowledge of embedded C++ coding and design patterns suitable for real time environments 

• Experience with of real time and/or embedded operating systems and threading and communication issues related to real time operating systems and system implementation 

• Experience collaborating with UX/UI designers to create intuitive and effective user experiences is a plus 

• Familiarity with electromechanical system design (motor drives, sensor systems, CAN bus communications); hands on testing experience is also beneficial 

• Experience with modern production-grade software development practices, QA processes, and version control tools 

• Comfort with numerical programming tools for data analysis (Python, Julia, Matlab, Tableau, etc.) 

• Good written and verbal communication skills with the ability to explain and teach technical concepts to others 

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