Staff Software Engineer - Federal (Robotics)

Location: Fully onsite at the headquarters in Irvine, California, United States

Salary: $70,000–$300,000 per year, plus benefits, equity, and paid time off

Company

hirify.global develops risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems and autonomous robots for demanding real-world environments.

What you will do

• Deploy, integrate, debug, and support autonomous wheeled robotic platforms across federal and commercial programs.
• Develop robust utilities and tools for system software integration and automated testing.
• Improve software reliability and performance by incorporating feedback from field operations.
• Provide technical expertise and analytical input on software architecture and early-stage system design.
• Work directly with customers and internal teams to translate operational needs into technical solutions.

Requirements

• PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, or an MS in a related field with 2+ years of industry or applied research experience.
• Software engineering experience across the full program lifecycle, especially early-stage system design and development.
• Experience with robotics middleware such as ROS or ROS 2, distributed systems, real-time communications, and embedded systems using C/C++ on constrained hardware.
• Ability to work across software, electronics, networking, and mechanical interfaces.
• Experience managing complex programs with multiple dependencies in agile or hybrid frameworks, including financial modeling, ROI analysis, and KPI tracking.
• U.S. Person eligibility is required for projects connected to the U.S. government, including U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents, refugees, and asylees.

Nice to have

• Experience deploying, operating, or maintaining mission-critical systems in real-world environments.
• Experience with Jira, Wrike, Confluence, or similar program management tools.
• Customer-facing experience in high-stakes, fast-paced settings and the ability to explain technical concepts to non-technical users.
• Willingness to travel and work onsite with customers as needed.

Culture & Benefits

• Full onsite collaboration with flexible working hours to support focus and work-life balance.
• Benefits package, equity, and generous time off.
• Work on autonomous robotics for unstructured, previously unknown environments.
• Inclusive workplace with employees evaluated on merit, qualifications, and performance.