Principal Motion Planning Engineer

At Pickle Robot, we're on a mission to automate global supply chains with Physical AI. Our robots work alongside warehouse teams to unload trucks and containers — one of the toughest, most understaffed jobs in logistics — making the work safer, faster, and more efficient for the people doing it.  Loading trucks comes next, followed by the Dill Autonomy Engine: generalized autonomy that will eventually orchestrate robots across entire logistics processes.

What You'll Do

• Own the technical vision, architecture, interfaces, and system documentation for Pickle's motion planning and controls stack — manipulation, navigation, and safety-critical control of the unload robot — so the team can move faster and scale
• Take on the hardest algorithmic problems in planning and control — sample-based planning (e.g., RRT), path and trajectory optimization, numerical/nonlinear optimization, and contact-aware control — and turn research prototypes into production systems
• Set engineering standards and technical strategy across the robotics organization, driving high-stakes technical decisions that unblock major customers and multi-year roadmaps
• Act as a force multiplier through deep technical mentorship — raising the bar for the whole team, reviewing designs, and guiding engineers on the toughest problems without direct people management
• Analyze field failure cases and partner across engineering, test, and on-site deployment teams to design robust autonomous recovery that measurably improves reliability
• Establish regression tests, benchmarks, and success metrics that keep regressions away from customers and focus the team on the highest-impact work.
• Write production-grade Python and C++ for real-time, safety-critical robotics — personally shipping the highest-leverage and highest-risk components 

What You'll Bring

• 8+ years building robotics software, with a sustained record of designing and shipping complex systems as a senior individual contributor; deep graduate robotics/controls research experience counts toward this
• Expert-level mastery of motion planning and control for real-world robots — manipulation, navigation, or locomotion — including sample-based planning (e.g., RRT), path and trajectory optimization, numerical/nonlinear optimization, and optimal/contact-aware control, in safety-critical, real-time production systems; expert-level Python and C++
• Exceptional technical communication; able to set org-wide technical strategy, write clear architecture and design docs, and influence engineering, product, and executive stakeholders without formal authority. Professional fluency in English
• No specific degree required — a strong foundation in robotics, controls, computer science, mechanical engineering, or a related quantitative field is expected
• Proficiency with ROS/ROS2, Git, Linux, and numerical optimization libraries; experience architecting testing/CI and benchmarking for robotics
• Deep technical ownership, sound judgment on high-stakes tradeoffs, a force-multiplier mindset, strong failure-analysis instincts, and a collaborative, low-ego approach
• Hybrid — Boston, MA area, with regular on-site work and occasional travel to customer deployment sites
• Full-time, with occasional schedule flexibility to support on-site deployments, demos, and testing