What to ExpectThe ML & Robotics Infra team builds the foundational systems that every part of our robot perception, ML, controls and behavior runs on, and the developer infrastructure that lets us build, ship, and update that software quickly and safely on every robot in the fleet.
As a System Software Engineer, you'll focus on the runtime itself which encompasses the IPC layer, performance, scheduling, observability, logging and replay infrastructure that the rest of the robot software depends on. You'll work alongside teammates who own the GPU and accelerated compute layer and our build and delivery infrastructure, and you'll partner cross-functionally with Software, ML, Controls, and Hardware teams to ensure the runtime meets the latency, throughput, and reliability bar required for a real-time robotic system operating in the home.
What You'll DoYou'll own and contribute to core areas of the runtime, including:
- IPC: Build the messaging substrate for high-throughput sensor data, messaging and low-latency event flow between processes
- Data logging & dynamic trigger infrastructure: Develop a high-throughput logging system and (in the future) trigger-based capture for targeted debugging in the field
- CPU performance tuning & code optimization: Profile, identify bottlenecks, and drive down latency across the stack
- Scheduling and monitoring: Design how work gets dispatched, prioritized, and monitored on the robot
- Observability & tracing: Build tracing, profiling, and runtime introspection so engineers across the company can understand what the robot is doing and why
- Offline replay: Enable faithful replay of recorded runs for debugging, regression testing, and ML iteration
What you'll bring- 2+ years of experience developing systems software for high-performance, low-latency, or pseudo-realtime environments (robotics, autonomous vehicles, HFT, or similar)
- Strong proficiency in a systems language such as C++, C, or Rust
- Deep Linux expertise: scheduling, IPC, kernel tuning, memory management, and performance tuning
- Hands-on experience with CPU performance optimization
- Strong systems debugging skills with tools like perf, ftrace, eBPF, and similar tracing infrastructure
Nice to have- Experience writing systems software for AV, Robotics or other physical systems
- Experience building observability or tracing infrastructure for distributed or multi-process systems
- Experience designing or building high-throughput logging systems and exposure deterministic replay systems
- Experience with build systems and OTA updates
Even if you don't meet every single requirement, we encourage you to apply. Studies show that women and underrepresented groups often hold back unless they meet 100% of the criteria - we don't want that to be the reason we miss out on great talent.
