Robotics Software Engineer II (Boulder, CO)

PickNik Robotics is redefining the robotics industry with MoveIt Pro, a first-of-its-kind platform that combines AI and motion planning to make robots work in the real world. Physical AI is reshaping the field: as foundation models and vision-language-action (VLA) policies move from the lab into production, MoveIt Pro combines these learned approaches with robust, safety-aware planning and control so robots can reliably perform real tasks. Built on over a decade of experience with companies like GM, Philips, Samsung, BMW, Lockheed Martin, NASA, and leading startups, MoveIt Pro brings proven capabilities into production. Join us in helping companies deploy AI to robots quickly and effectively, unlocking new possibilities. This is a challenging, high-impact role with the opportunity to do some of the most rewarding work of your career.

PickNik is an agentic-coding-forward company. We use AI-assisted and agentic coding tools as part of our everyday development to ship and maintain high-quality software faster, and we expect engineers to adopt these tools and keep getting more effective with them.

As a Robotics Software Engineer at PickNik Robotics, you will help scope, design, and develop scalable improvements to the MoveIt Pro platform — writing software that runs on robots around the world (and in outer space!). The work spans the full stack, from robot hardware integration and motion planning through to the platform features and APIs that customers build on. Increasingly, that means bringing physical AI into production by integrating learned policies and foundation models, including vision-language-action (VLA) models, alongside the classical planning and control that make robots dependable. It requires both a strategic mindset to design singular solutions that fulfill multiple use cases and the forethought to anticipate and test the edge cases that matter before they reach production. Our development is driven by users in dozens of industries with robots spread across prototype, pilot, and production environments.

Am I a good fit?

• You love robotics and have a passion for creating the next generation of robot software.
• Are excited to be part of a team of robotics experts.
• Should work efficiently, be ready to learn, and have great attention to detail.
• Desire to contribute to closed and open source projects solving big problems.
• Ability to collaborate with teams around the world.

Requirements

• Driven to ship reliable software used in production settings to solve hard problems robotics have never done before.
• Flexibility across a number of tasks beyond developing code, such as debugging performance, pair programming on multidisciplinary regressions, testing CUDA compatibility, and investigating user pain points.
• Minimum 4 years of professional work experience.
• Strong C++17 (or newer) experience and familiarity with at least one scripting language, preferably Python.
• Experience with JavaScript, especially in interaction with ROS 2 applications.
• Experience with robot arm hardware integration, such as trajectory controller development and driver development for commercial hardware.
• Extensive knowledge of software development in Linux.
• Experience with ROS 2.
• Experience with full life-cycle library and application development, Git version control, software testing, and continuous integration.
• Be able to travel approximately every other month to customer sites & conferences. Less than 20% of the time.
• Live in the Boulder/Denver area and have the ability to be in-office at least 3 days per week.
• Degree(s) in Computer Science, Robotics, Engineering, or a related field and/or equivalent industry experience. Advanced degrees are a plus.

Some Preferred Skills/experience

• Experience with multiple robot description formats, such as URDF and MJCF.
• Experience with ros2_control hardware interfaces for 500+ Hz drivers.
• Experience shipping and maintaining a software+hardware solution in production.
• Knowledge of processes to measure and tune communication middleware.
• Previous projects involving ROS 2, MoveIt 2, Nav2, Mujoco, or other robotic libraries.
• General understanding of graph theory, algorithm design, simulation, motion planning, inverse kinematics, and/or control systems.
• Understanding of cross-platform, multi-language package management tools such as Pixi.
• Demonstrated industry ability to deliver complex projects

Benefits:

• Health, Dental, and Vision insurance
• 401k Matching
• Paid time off
• Opportunity to share in the company’s success through equity

Minimum Salary

• The minimum salary for this position is $110,000/year.