Senior Robotics Engineer

Job Description

Location: Sunnyvale, CA (Fully On-site)

About Knightscope

Knightscope designs and operates Autonomous Security Robots (ASRs) that safeguard people and property around the clock. Our fleet of ASRs combines robotics, edge AI, and cloud services to deliver actionable, real time intelligence to clients nation wide.

Position Summary

The Senior Robotics Engineer leads architecture, algorithm development, and fleet level deployment of next generation ASR capabilities. You will own ROS 2–based perception, localization, planning, and cloud connectivity pipelines, guiding a multi disciplinary team to deliver reliable, scalable, and secure autonomy.

Key Responsibilities

- System Architecture & Design – Specify end to end hardware–software–cloud architectures that meet functional, safety, and regulatory objectives.

Algorithm R&D Production – Prototype in Autoware/Gazebo/Ignition or Webots simulators, validate on physical robots, and transition to production quality C++/Python within ROS 2 (Foxy/Humble/Iron).

Perception & Sensor Fusion – Implement 3D LiDAR, RGB D, radar and IMU fusion; develop SLAM, localization, and multi modal detection (YOLO, DeepSORT, pose estimation).

Planning & Control – Deploy Nav2 and MoveIt 2 pipelines, real time trajectory generation, and behavior trees for autonomous patrol, docking and fail safe recovery.

Edge AI & Analytics – Integrate TensorFlow Lite / ONNX Runtime based inference, anomaly detection, and continual learning workflows.

DevOps & Fleet Management – Own CI/CD (GitHub Actions, Jenkins), containerization (Docker, MicroK8s), over the air (OTA) updates, and telemetry dashboards (Prometheus/Grafana).

Cybersecurity & Compliance – Champion secure by design practices (TLS, secure boot, S BOM) and contribute to safety standards (UL 4600, ISO 10218, IEC 61508).

Leadership – Mentor and task a sub team of robotics engineers; conduct design reviews, code reviews, and career development sessions.

Rapid Troubleshooting – Analyze fleet logs and on site issues to restore functionality and feed improvements back into the platform roadmap.

Minimum Qualifications

Education: Master’s in Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or related field.

Experience: 5 years as Robotics Engineer, R&D Engineer, Systems Engineer or similar, including at least 2 years hands on with ROS 2 and Python/C++. Experience may be gained through paid roles or internships.

Proficiency in modern development workflows: Git, Agile/Scrum, design documentation.

Preferred Qualifications

3+ years developing and deploying autonomous mobile robots or other safety critical embedded systems.

Deep expertise in motion planning, probabilistic filtering (EKF/UKF/particle), and control theory.

Real time Linux (PREEMPT_RT) or embedded RTOS; DDS tuning and QoS optimization.

Experience with cloud robotics frameworks (AWS RoboMaker, Azure Percept) and edge to cloud communication (DDS, MQTT, ROS 2 bridge).

Knowledge of cybersecurity best practices and compliance frameworks (NIST, FedRAMP).

Demonstrated leadership of small engineering teams.

Technologies You Will Use

Middleware: ROS 2, micro ROS, DDS (Fast DDS, Cyclone), Nav2, MoveIt 2

Languages: C++17/20, Python 3, Bash

Sensors: 3D/2D LiDAR, ToF, RGB D, mmWave radar, wheel odometry, IMU

Simulation/CI: Autoware/Gazebo /Ignition, Webots, GitHub Actions, Jenkins

DevOps/Cloud: Docker, Kubernetes/MicroK8s, AWS RoboMaker, Grafana/Prometheus, MQTT, OTA frameworks

AI/ML: TensorFlow Lite, ONNX Runtime, PyTorch, >YOLOv7, edge TPU/NVIDIA Jetson

Physical & Other Requirements

Ability to lift up to 40 lbs and work in warehouse and outdoor test environments.

Occasional (<20%) travel to client sites, production facilities, and trade shows.

Knightscope is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Full-time