Senior Robotics Software Engineer, Test - San Francisco - Chef Robotics

Description

About Our Team
Chef Robotics is on a mission to accelerate the advent of intelligent machines in the physical world. As the rise of LLMs like ChatGPT has shown, AI has the potential to drive immense change. However, we believe AI's biggest impact will be in the physical world, given industries like manufacturing, food, and transportation represent 90% of global GDP. We're starting with food, with a goal to put an intelligent robot in every commercial kitchen in the world. We have signed multiple multi-year contracts with various large food companies and we are growing fast. We're backed by investors like Kleiner Perkins, Construct, Bloomberg BETA and Promus Ventures. We have a great team, where you will be surrounded by talented engineers and tech leaders from companies like Cruise, Zoox, Google, Verb Surgical, Tesla, Nuro, Vicarious, Amazon Robotics, Strateos, Built Robotics, Facebook, Plenty, Yelp, and Microsoft.
About the Role
As a Senior Robotics Software Engineer, Test at Chef Robotics, you'll develop comprehensive testing frameworks and methodologies to validate our robotic control algorithms, motion planning, safety systems, perception pipelines, and hardware-software integrations. You'll work across our entire robotics platform, with primary focus on robotics systems validation and significant emphasis on perception system testing. This role requires deep technical expertise in both robotics and perception software testing, with the ability to architect robust validation frameworks that ensure our robots perform consistently and safely in real-world food production environments while accurately perceiving and responding to their environment.
Robotics Test Framework Development

• Design and implement automated testing frameworks for robot motion planning and control systems
• Develop advanced evaluation frameworks for core robot behaviors over hundreds of scenarios
• Develop advanced validation frameworks for real-time control loop performance and stability across diverse operational conditions
• Build sophisticated test harnesses for hardware-software integration validation
• Architect simulation environments for testing robotic behavior without physical hardware dependencies

Perception System Testing & Validation

• Design and implement comprehensive testing frameworks for computer vision algorithms and perception pipelines
• Create automated test suites for object detection, segmentation, and classification in food production environments
• Develop validation systems for camera calibration and depth estimation accuracy
• Build test frameworks for lighting condition variations and visual robustness testing
• Implement automated testing for ingredient recognition and food property estimation algorithms
• Create test scenarios for perception system performance under varying environmental conditions

Advanced Mechanical-Software Integration Testing

• Develop test methodologies for validating actuator performance and precision position accuracy
• Create automated test systems for calibration procedures and joint-space accuracy validation
• Design and implement test fixtures that measure and validate force control and compliance behaviors
• Develop comprehensive test cases for evaluating system performance under varying payload and environmental conditions
• Create comprehensive test suites for safety-critical protective stop mechanisms and collision detection systems
• Implement sophisticated tests for conveyor tracking and synchronization with moving production components
• Build validation systems for mechanical system reliability and performance optimization

Robotics-Perception Integration Testing

• Create complex test scenarios that validate robot controller consumption and response to perception data
• Develop comprehensive test harnesses for end-to-end validation of vision-guided manipulation tasks
• Build automated testing systems for calibration between robot coordinate frames and vision systems
• Design advanced test cases that stress-test robot behavior under perception uncertainty and edge conditions
• Implement robust validation frameworks for real-time coordination between perception and motion planning systems
• Create testing protocols for multi-sensor integration and sensor fusion validation

Test Infrastructure & Automation Development

• Develop CI/CD pipelines specifically optimized for robotics and perception system testing
• Architect hardware-in-the-loop testing infrastructure for comprehensive component validation
• Create sophisticated data collection and analysis systems to capture performance metrics and trends
• Design scalable test environments that simulate various operational and environmental conditions
• Implement advanced automated test reporting, visualization, and analytics systems
• Build testing frameworks that support both simulated and real-world validation scenarios

Required Qualifications - Technical Expertise

• Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Computer Vision, Mechanical Engineering, or related technical field
• 7+ years of professional experience in robotics software development, perception systems, or testing
• Expert-level programming skills in Python with advanced software engineering capabilities
• Extensive experience with robotics simulation environments (Gazebo, PyBullet, MuJoCo, or similar)
• Strong background in computer vision and perception system development and testing
• Deep familiarity with robot control systems, motion planning, and real-time robotics software
• Proven experience with CI/CD pipeline development and test automation frameworks
• Advanced understanding of test automation principles, methodologies, and best practices

Domain Knowledge

• Deep understanding of robotics kinematics, dynamics, and control systems with practical testing experience
• Extensive experience with computer vision algorithms, image processing, and perception pipeline testing
• Strong background with industrial robotics, collaborative robots, or similar automation systems
• Advanced knowledge of safety systems in robotics applications and validation methodologies
• Comprehensive understanding of hardware-software integration testing for robotics systems
• Experience with camera systems, calibration procedures, and vision-based measurement validation
• Knowledge of machine learning model testing and validation in production environments

Personal Attributes

• Exceptional problem-solving skills with systematic approach to identifying edge cases and failure modes
• Excellence in technical communication and documentation of complex test methodologies and results
• Proactive mindset in identifying potential issues and implementing preventive testing solutions
• Collaborative approach working effectively with cross-functional development teams
• Comfort with working in a fast-paced startup environment with startup-oriented hours
• Commitment to working onsite five days a week to contribute to positive in-office culture
• Passion for creating robust, reliable robotics and perception systems

Desired Qualifications

• Experience with ROS (Robot Operating System) and its comprehensive testing frameworks
• Advanced knowledge of real-time systems testing and validation methodologies
• Experience with OpenCV, PCL (Point Cloud Library), and other computer vision libraries
• Familiarity with deep learning frameworks (TensorFlow, PyTorch) for perception model testing
• Experience with force/torque sensing, control, and testing
• Experience with industrial automation or manufacturing systems testing in production environments
• Background in food processing equipment testing or production line automation validation
• Experience with 3D vision systems, point cloud processing, and spatial understanding
• Familiarity with lighting systems and structured light for industrial vision applications
• Startup experience with track record of establishing testing frameworks under tight deadlines
• Experience with automated testing of AI/ML components in robotics and perception systems

Key Projects You'll Work On

• Developing comprehensive robotics and perception testing frameworks for production deployment validation
• Building advanced hardware-in-the-loop testing infrastructure for integrated robotics-perception systems
• Creating sophisticated simulation environments for comprehensive behavior validation
• Implementing automated testing pipelines for continuous integration of robotics and perception software
• Designing validation systems for vision-guided manipulation in food production environments

$150,000 - $240,000 a year
Chef is an early-stage startup where equity is a major part of the compensation package. Our salary ranges are determined by role, level, and location. The range displayed on each job posting reflects the minimum and maximum target for new hire salaries for the position. Within the range, individual pay is determined by additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training.
In addition to salary and early-stage equity, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, commuter benefits, flexible paid time off (PTO), catered lunch, and 401(k) matching.
Equal Opportunity Employer
We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, sex, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, citizen status, uniform service member and veteran status, marital status, age, pregnancy status, protected medical condition, genetic information, disability, or any other protected status.
Multiple studies have found that a higher percentage of women and BIPOC candidates won't apply if they don't meet every listed qualification. Chef values candidates of all backgrounds. If you find yourself excited by our mission but you don't check every box in the description, we encourage you to apply anyway