Senior Robotics Software Engineer

About the Company
Spacer Robotics is building autonomous, non-humanoid robotic systems to construct
infrastructure in extreme environments—from lunar bases to next-gen terrestrial job sites. Our
vision is to disrupt the $16 trillion global construction industry by pioneering a new Deep Tech
philosophy that blends robotics, AI, and systems engineering at the frontier.

About the Role
The role on-site in San Francisco, no remote candidates will be considered for this role. We build next generation of robots and interaction with hardware is a must.
We're seeking a Senior Robotics Software Engineer to join the core team building Spacer's
production-level robot. This is a highly hands-on, multidisciplinary role spanning the full
autonomy stack—from raw sensor data through perception, localization, planning, and control.

You'll be a technical self-starter who thrives with broad ownership, can make sound architectural
decisions independently, and is energized by building real systems on physical hardware in
unstructured environments. As an early hire, you'll shape our engineering culture and leave a
lasting mark on how our robots think, see, and move.

Responsibilities

As a Senior Robotics Engineer, you will be expected to be versatile, making key contributions to
a range of components in the Spacer software stack, including:

• Robotics Software Stack: Develop and maintain our ROS-based control systems for
  real-time robotic motion and coordination for our rebar-tying robot GRID

• Embedded Systems: Strong skills in C++ for embedded platforms, optimizing for
  reliability and low-latency

• Sensor Integration: Interface with cameras, lidar, IMUs, and encoders to build robust
  perception and feedback loops

• Hardware-Software Integration: Work closely with hardware engineers to debug,
  calibrate, and optimize the full system, including the construction tasks specific
  mechanisms

• Motion Planning & Control: Implement kinematics, trajectory planning, and control
  algorithms for smooth, natural movement

• Production-Ready Systems: Build the monitoring, diagnostics, and update infrastructure
  needed for manufacturing a high-volume product that is aimed at navigating the
  construction environment & outdoors temperatures and weather conditions.

Required:

• 4+ years of professional software engineering experience

• Strong C++ skills—you're comfortable with performance optimization, memory
  management, and debugging complex systems

• Python proficiency for scripting, testing, and rapid prototyping

• Experience with sensors, cameras, motors, or embedded systems in a professional
  context

• Excellent debugging skills—you know how to track down issues across hardware,
  firmware, and software

• High energy and enthusiasm for building physical products

• Based in or willing to relocate to the San Francisco Bay Area. Our team works in-person which is essential for hardware development

Preferred:

• ROS/ROS2 experience

• Shipped a robotics product or worked on production robotic systems or similar (cars, automation of equipment, other robotics applications, etc)

• Embedded development experience

• Computer vision, sensor fusion, or perception experience
  Background in controls, kinematics, or motion planning

• Experience working in high pace, early stage startups

Compensation
The U.S. base salary for this full-time position ranges from $140,000 to $205,000, based on experience and qualifications. The compensation package is competitive and benchmarked against Bay Area senior-level market rates, and includes meaningful early-stage equity.