Sr. Robotics Engineer, Autonomy

Join Contoro Robotics – Revolutionizing Warehouse Automation with Cutting-Edge Robotics

At Contoro Robotics, we're on a mission to solve labor challenges through advanced robotic solutions. Headquartered in Austin, TX, our fast-growing startup is transforming the supply chain industry with our flagship warehouse automation technology. Our team is made up of top-tier experts in robotics, AI, and logistics, working together to push the boundaries of automation.

We’re looking for talented and ambitious individuals to join us on this journey—helping shape the future of robotics while growing alongside a world-class team. If you're passionate about innovation, problem-solving, and making a real-world impact, we want to hear from you!

About Contoro

Contoro Robotics is an Austin based startup focused on warehouse automation. We design a state-of-the-art autonomous truck unloading system capable of lifting boxes over 60 lbs.

The Role

We are hiring a senior robotics software engineer to own the motion planning and autonomous behavior systems on our unloading robot. You will lead the development of the software that decides how the robot picks boxes; from grasp planning and collision avoidance to the behavior logic that governs the full autonomous unloading cycle. These systems run in production across a fleet of active robots. This is a high-autonomy role; you will be expected to drive technical direction and priorities within these systems independently.

Responsibilities

• Own and advance the robot's motion planning and trajectory execution pipeline, including grasp planning, collision avoidance, and pick strategy optimization

• Own and advance the behavior tree that governs the robot's autonomous unloading cycle — box sequencing, error recovery, and operational state management

• Debug and resolve production issues through remote log analysis and telemetry

• Improve pick success rate and cycle time through software changes

• Write and maintain automated tests for motion planning and behavior logic

• Collaborate with perception, hardware, and trajectory optimization engineers on cross-system integration

• Participate in design reviews and contribute to architectural decisions

Qualifications

• B.S. or M.S. in Robotics, Computer Science, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field

• 5+ years of professional experience developing software for deployed robotic systems

• Proficiency in Python in a production robotics environment

• Experience with ROS and motion planning frameworks (e.g., MoveIt)

• Experience with behavior trees or state machines for robot autonomy

• Working knowledge of kinematics, trajectory execution, and collision avoidance for manipulators

• Strong debugging skills and the ability to independently diagnose issues in production systems

• Familiarity with Linux-based development environments

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with industrial manipulators (KUKA, ABB, Fanuc, UR, or similar)

• Familiarity with occupancy mapping for collision avoidance

• Experience with Docker-based deployment and cloud-based logging/monitoring

• Prior work in warehouse automation, logistics, or pick-and-place applications