Principal Software Engineer (Robotics)

Location: Seattle, WA (on-site); approximately 15% of the role involves field testing in real farming environments.

Salary: $120,000–$150,000 annually, plus equity and bonuses.

Company

Build software for a robotics startup developing autonomous machines to address agricultural weed management, with early clients using the system and production approaching.

What you will do

• Define and own the robotics software architecture from the ground up.
• Architect and build robust, real-time, production-grade robotics software.
• Develop embedded systems, containerized services, and real-time controls.
• Own infrastructure, perception, and DevOps across the software stack.
• Spend approximately 15% of the time testing and debugging robots in real farming environments.
• Work directly with the founding team in a high-autonomy, fast-feedback environment.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience building and shipping production software.
• US citizenship or a Green Card; visa sponsorship is not available.
• Strong experience with Rust and Python.
• Deep knowledge of Linux, including networking, systemd, and the kernel.
• Experience with Docker, containerization, and embedded development.
• Experience at the hardware/software boundary and a scrappy engineering mindset.
• Comfort debugging under pressure in real-world field conditions.

Nice to have

• Exposure to computer vision, machine learning, distributed systems, or agricultural technology.
• Experience in robotics, automation, or resource-constrained systems.
• Previous startup or high-autonomy engineering experience.

Culture & Benefits

• Opportunity to define the software architecture from day one.
• Work on robots deployed in real-world agricultural environments rather than only in a lab.
• Meaningful equity in a startup addressing a physical agricultural problem.
• Small, passionate team focused on practical progress and direct collaboration.

Hiring process

• Tell the hiring team about your background and attach a CV when applying.