Role OverviewWe are looking for a hands-on Engineer to act as the technical reference for our US sales organization. You will partner closely with sales teams and key account managers and be the front facing technical expert with our customers. You are equally comfortable in front of a customer's whiteboard, at a hackathon table, and in the codebase. Your work will directly shape how customers experience and adopt the Franka platform, including through contributions to our public open-source repositories.
RequirementsKey Responsibilities- Sales & account support: Support sales teams and key account managers as the technical expert throughout the sales cycle - qualifying opportunities, answering technical questions, and helping to scope and deliver technical closure.
- Customer consulting: Visit customers on-site and remotely to consult on technical solutions, assess requirements, and recommend the right combination of hardware, software interfaces (Desk, FCI, ROS 2), and ecosystem components.
- Proof of concepts: Design, build, and demonstrate proof-of-concept applications that validate customer use cases and de-risk purchasing decisions.
- Simulation-driven solution design: Build and present simulation models of customer applications - cell layouts, reachability studies, cycle-time estimates, and virtual demos - using tools such as and robotics simulators, to validate concepts before hardware is deployed.
- Hackathons & events: Plan and support hackathons, workshops, trade shows, and technical demos - providing on-site coaching, live programming support, and demo setups.
- Software development & open source: Program customer-facing solutions, sample applications, and integration tools; publish and contribute code to the Franka Robotics GitHub open-source repositories (e.g., libfranka, franka_ros2) and help review community contributions.
- Feedback loop: Channel customer requirements, field insights, and recurring technical issues back to Product Management and R&D in Munich.
- Enablement: Create demos, documentation, tutorials, and training material that enable customers, partners, and internal sales colleagues.
Experience & Attributes- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Robotics, Mechatronics, Computer Science, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
- 2+ years of experience in an applications engineering, solutions engineering, pre-sales, or robotics development role
- Strong programming skills in C++
- Hands-on experience with ROS / ROS 2 and robot manipulators (collaborative robots a strong plus)
- Experience with 3D manufacturing/robotics simulation (OLP solutions), for application layout, feasibility studies, and virtual commissioning
- Proven ability to build demos or prototypes quickly and present them convincingly to technical and non-technical audiences
- Experience working with Git/GitHub and contributing to shared or open-source codebases
- Excellent communication and presentation skills in English
- Ability to travel regularly to customer sites, hackathons, and trade shows across the US
Nice to Have- Experience with the Franka platform (FR3, libfranka, FCI, franka_ros2) or comparable force sensitive/collaborative robots
- Background in motion planning, control, machine learning for robotics, or teleoperation/imitation learning
- Experience with additional physics/robotics simulators (e.g., Gazebo, NVIDIA Isaac Sim, MuJoCo, Visual Components) and digital-twin workflows
- Experience with real-time control and Linux
- Prior customer-facing experience in a technical sales or consulting environment
- Existing open-source contributions or a public portfolio of robotics projects
Classification and Compensation- Employment type. Full-time, exempt (salaried).
- Salary range: $155,000 to $195,000 USD per year, depending on experience and location within San Francisco Bay Area.
Benefits- Performance-based bonuses.
- Comprehensive benefits package, including health, dental, vision insurance, and Safe Harbor 401k.
- Generous paid time off and paid holidays.
- Opportunities for professional development and continuous learning in cutting-edge robotics technology.
