Staff Robotics Software Engineer, Robot Behaviors

Agility Robotics$190K — $296K *
Consumer Technology
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science, or related engineering field
  • 8+ years of experience in robotics software development and autonomy systems
  • Proven track record as a tech lead on complex robotics projects
  • Proficiency in Python and C++, with experience in large codebases
  • Understanding of behavior-planning frameworks such as behavior trees or state machines
  • Strong grasp of the interaction between motion planning, perception, and hardware
  • Experience with algorithms and data pipelines focused on optimization and scalability

Responsibilities

  • Own design and validation of humanoid robot behaviors
  • Lead the execution and planning of robot tasks
  • Develop new autonomy capabilities for real-world applications
  • Evaluate manipulation strategies across various environments
  • Integrate robotics behaviors with motion planning and controls
  • Train and implement learned policies into robotic workflows
  • Mentor junior engineers through hands-on collaboration
  • Set technical direction for robust and composable robot behaviors

Benefits

  • 401(k) Plan with a 6% company match
  • Stock options in the company
  • 100% company-paid insurance for medical, dental, vision, and disability
  • Eligible for benefits starting your first day
  • Unlimited PTO for exempt employees, plus 10 holidays
  • Catered lunches and healthy snacks at select locations
  • Generous paid parental leave
  • Flexible work environment
  • Professional development and tuition reimbursement
  • Relocation assistance for eligible roles
  • Annual discretionary bonus opportunities
Full Job Description
We are looking for a Staff Robotics Software Engineer (Tech Lead) to lead the design and development of robot behaviors that expand and generalize our humanoid robot's capabilities. In this role, you will own behavior design end-to-end, from high-level task logic and system design down to on-robot validation and deployment. You will work at the intersection of behavior planning, motion planning, object perception, and manipulation, developing new autonomy capabilities and pushing the robot into new classes of tasks. We are looking for a hands-on technical leader who can set technical direction and wants to stay close to the robot: writing code, running experiments, debugging logs, working with hardware, and mentoring other engineers by building alongside them.

Key Responsibilities
  • Own the design, implementation, and validation of complex humanoid robot behaviors.
  • Lead behavior planning and execution design, including task decomposition, control flow, recovery, and failure handling.
  • Build new autonomy capabilities that expand what the robot can reliably do in the real world.
  • Develop and evaluate manipulation strategies for new tasks, objects, workflows, and customer environments.
  • Integrate robot behaviors with motion planning, controls, object perception, estimation, and hardware systems.
  • Train, evaluate, and integrate learned policies into hybrid learned/classical execution workflows.
  • Integrate new end effectors, tools, sensors, and other hardware capabilities into the behavior stack.
  • Debug complex system-level failures using logs, replay, metrics, simulation, and on-robot experimentation.
  • Mentor engineers through design reviews, code reviews, debugging, and hands-on technical guidance.
  • Help set technical direction and best practices for building robust, composable, reusable, and generalizable robot behaviors.

About You
  • B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related engineering field.
  • 8+ years of professional experience developing robotics software, autonomy systems, robot behaviors, or related real-world robotic capabilities.
  • Demonstrated experience as a tech lead or senior technical owner for complex robotics projects.
  • Proficient in Python and C++, and comfortable contributing to large, long-lived codebases.
  • Experience with behavior trees, state machines, task planners, hierarchical planning, or similar behavior-planning frameworks.
  • Strong system-level understanding of how motion planning, object perception, controls, estimation, and hardware interact on real robots.
  • Experience working with complex algorithms and data pipelines, with an ability to optimize for performance, robustness, and scalability.
  • Experience collaborating closely with perception, planning, controls, hardware, product, or field teams.
  • Strong ownership mindset with a focus on robustness, generalization, and real-world reliability.

Bonus Qualifications
  • Experience developing manipulation strategies for complex or unstructured environments.
  • Experience with learned robot skills, including imitation learning, reinforcement learning, or hybrid learned/classical execution strategies.
  • Experience deploying and supporting autonomous robots in real customer environments.

This is a hybrid role based out of one of our Salem, OR, Pittsburgh, PA, or Fremont, CA offices.

The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to: market location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. This range may change based on geographical location and may be modified in the future.

Anticipated Salary Range

$190,000-$296,000 USD

In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of the following for full-time employees:
  • 401(k) Plan: Includes a 6% company match.
  • Equity: Company stock options.
  • Insurance Coverage: 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long-term disability insurance for employees.
  • Benefit Start Date: Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
  • Well-Being Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
  • Time Off:
    • Exempt Employees: Flexible, unlimited PTO and 10 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
    • Non-Exempt Employees: 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 10 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.
  • On-Site Perks: Catered lunches four times a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
  • Parental Leave: Generous paid parental leave programs.
  • Work Environment: A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
  • Growth Opportunities: Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.
  • Relocation Assistance: Provided for eligible roles.
  • Annual Discretionary Bonus: Provided for eligible roles.

All of our roles are U.S.-based. Applicants must have current authorization to work in the United States.

Apply Now: https://grnh.se/b444bbd04us

About Agility Robotics

Agility Robotics is a robotics company that designs and builds bipedal robots for a variety of applications. The company's robots are designed to operate in human environments, and are capable of navigating stairs, uneven terrain, and other obstacles. Agility Robotics' robots are used in a variety of industries, including logistics, delivery, and inspection. The company was founded in 2015 and is based in Albany, Oregon.
Learn more about Agility Robotics
Size
50 employees
Industry
Founded
2015

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