Senior Robotics Engineer / Onsite / Woburn, MA

Boston, MAOnsiteFull Time$120k - $180kAn innovative robotics company is seeking a Senior Robotics Engineer – Motion Planning to join their team in Woburn, MA. This is a full-time opportunity with a company reinventing automotive service through cutting-edge robotics. The company is developing automated tire changing and wheel balancing technology that combines advanced robotics, multi-axis motion systems, perception, and intelligent software to transform a process that has remained largely unchanged for decades.This is a high-ownership opportunity for a robotics engineer who wants to be a primary technical driver for motion planning and control on a completely unique robotic platform. You’ll work directly with custom multi-axis hardware, solving challenging problems involving motion planning, collision avoidance, kinematics, trajectory optimization, and real-world robotic execution. As part of a small, highly capable team, you’ll have significant influence over technical direction, direct access to hardware, and the opportunity to take sophisticated robotics technology from prototype through real-world deployment. If you enjoy hands-on engineering, working close to the robot, and solving problems that don’t have an existing playbook, this role offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on a category-defining technology. Required Skills & Experience · Deep expertise in robotic motion planning algorithms, including sampling-based methods such as RRT and RRT*, probabilistic roadmaps (PRM), and trajectory optimization techniques such as CHOMP, STOMP, or TrajOpt· 2+ years of hands-on experience with ROS 2 and MoveIt/MoveIt 2 in production or near-production robotic systems· Strong understanding of robot kinematics, including forward and inverse kinematics for serial and parallel manipulators· Hands-on experience with kinematic solvers such as KDL, TRAC-IK, or equivalent· Strong understanding of collision avoidance, occupancy representations, voxel grids, OctoMap, and safety-aware motion planning· Experience configuring and adapting URDF/SRDF models, planning scenes, planner interfaces, joint groups, and motion profiles· Strong proficiency in C++ and/or Python within the ROS 2 ecosystem· Understanding of real-time performance considerations, memory management, software architecture, and robotics software design patterns· Proven ability to diagnose complex hardware/software integration issues, from high-level trajectory failures to low-level actuator constraints· Experience developing production-grade robotic systems capable of reliable, fast motion planning under real-world constraints· Experience working with dynamic obstacles, tight tolerances, and complex collision environments· Experience with robotic simulation environments for development, testing, and validation· Strong software engineering fundamentals, including writing clean, maintainable, well-tested code and documenting technical designs Desired Skills & Experience · BS, MS, or PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field· Experience with the Pilz Industrial Motion Planner, OMPL, CHOMP, STOMP, or other industrial motion planning frameworks· Background in automotive service equipment, industrial automation, manufacturing systems, or complex mechatronic platforms· Experience with real-time trajectory execution and hardware-in-the-loop testing· Experience with safety-rated motion control, safety interlocks, or other robotic safety systems· Full-stack robotics experience spanning motor control, drive systems, hardware abstraction layers (HAL), and low-level firmware interfaces· Experience integrating perception systems into reactive or perception-driven motion planning· Familiarity with LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, point clouds, PCL, Open3D, SLAM, or object detection· Experience deploying and debugging robotic systems in the field· Experience working with multi-manipulator or multi-axis robotic systems operating in confined or highly constrained environments· Experience optimizing robotic systems for fast, repeatable, production-ready operation What You Will Be Doing Tech Breakdown · 30% Motion Planning & Trajectory Optimization — Develop collision-aware motion planning using OMPL, RRT/RRT-Connect/PRM, Pilz, CHOMP, STOMP, TrajOpt, and other planning approaches· 20% ROS 2 & MoveIt Development — Build and maintain ROS 2 nodes, MoveIt/MoveIt 2 configurations, planning scenes, URDF/SRDF models, planner interfaces, joint groups, and trajectory execution systems· 20% Robotics Software & Controls — Develop software for actuator state feedback, joint state publishing, trajectory execution, motion control, and hardware interfaces· 15% Kinematics, Collision Avoidance & Safety — Define kinematic constraints, velocity/acceleration limits, collision models, safety interlocks, and joint-specific motion profiles· 15% Simulation, Testing & Field Deployment — Validate robotic behaviors in simulation, perform hardware-in-the-loop testing, debug production hardware, and optimize motion performance during field deployments Daily Responsibilities · 50% Hands-On Engineering — Write and review C++/Python code, develop motion planning algorithms, tune planners, debug trajectories, and optimize robotic performance· 20% Hardware & Systems Integration — Work directly with robotic hardware, actuators, drives, sensors, and low-level interfaces to ensure reliable motion execution· 15% Testing & Validation — Build simulation and validation workflows, test collision avoidance and trajectory execution, and ensure motion planning meets production requirements· 15% Team Collaboration — Partner with perception, systems, hardware, firmware, and software engineers to define requirements, troubleshoot integration issues, and establish technical direction