Robot Reliability Engineer

Company Description
Third Wave Automation is a rapidly growing startup that has demonstrated its core technology components, proven its market fit, and just closed its Series C funding. If you are excited about cutting edge machine learning, robotics that affects the real world, and want to join a company where your skills can have a huge impact, you'll fit right in.

Third Wave Automation is applying modern machine learning to materials handling—delivering site-specific forklift navigation and infrastructure-free pallet handling that continuously adapts to changing floor configuration and warehouse demand.

Job Description
Third Wave Automation is seeking an individual contributor for the role of Robot Reliability Engineer. This position is crucial for scaling our fleet of robotic forklifts and expanding their operational hours. The successful candidate will be responsible for testing, debugging, and developing tooling to support our growing fleet of semi autonomous robots.

You will develop software and process to test, monitor, and support a multi agent fleet of robots.

This position requires a mix of hardware, software and organizational skills as it relates to mobile robots.

As an integral part of the Engineering Operations team, your role will be to enhance the scalability of our robotic forklift fleet. This involves improving their reliability and proactively identifying potential issues.

The Robot Reliability Engineer will play a pivotal role in ensuring the optimal performance and continuous operation of our advanced robot fleet at our headquarters. This position demands a meticulous and proactive individual who will be responsible for the comprehensive management and maintenance of these sophisticated robotic systems.

A key aspect of this role involves orchestrating and executing rigorous tests to assist with the Quality Assurance (QA) assessment of future software and hardware releases for our product. This includes designing test plans, implementing testing protocols, and meticulously documenting results to identify potential issues and ensure the highest standards of reliability and functionality. The Robot Reliability Engineer will also provide L2 support for robots running in the field.

Furthermore, the Robot Reliability Engineer will be actively involved in the development of custom software solutions to enhance testing capabilities. This includes writing scripts, developing automation tools, and creating data analysis frameworks to facilitate accelerated testing of both hardware components and software functionalities. This will contribute significantly to shortening development cycles and ensuring the robustness of our product.

We are at a critical inflection point. TWA's market-leading solution is ready to scale, and we need engineers ready to build what's next. You will pioneer new solutions while driving the operational maturity to support our rapid growth. Your contributions will be central to both shaping our product roadmap and defining our success.

How You Can Make An Impact

• Architect and implement core infrastructure components in C++ and Python for autonomous vehicle systems
• Own and optimize the Bazel build system to support large-scale, multi-language codebases with fast iteration cycles
• Design and troubleshoot complex networked systems used in communication between vehicles, edge systems, and cloud services
• Dive into Linux internals to tune performance, debug low-level issues, and ensure system reliability under real-world conditions
• Structure and package applications for reliable and scalable deployment on Kubernetes, both in edge and cloud-based environments
• Collaborate closely with autonomy, perception, and infrastructure teams to integrate and operationalize robotics software
• Lead technical direction for key infrastructure efforts, mentor other engineers, and contribute to the long-term architectural vision

Desired Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience working hands on with robots (can include time as a student)
• Experiences using multiple sensors (lidar, cameras, IMUs, …)
• Proficiency in C++ and Python, with strong system design and debugging skills
• Proficiency in linux
• Experience with ROS or similar middleware.
• Mechanical knowledge with the ability to do robot repairs
• Demonstrated project execution and results
• Strong planning and execution capabilities
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• The candidate should possess substantial experience with testing software, demonstrating a strong understanding of various testing methodologies, tools, and best practices. This includes, but is not limited to, unit testing, integration testing, system testing, and acceptance testing. Proficiency in developing and executing test plans, creating comprehensive test cases, and analyzing test results is essential. The ability to identify, document, and track software defects, as well as collaborate with development teams to ensure timely resolution, is crucial for this role.

Bonus Points For

• Experience working in robotics, autonomous vehicles, or other real-time/safety-critical systems
• Management and leadership experience
• Experience with continuous integration and software testing
• Understanding of network protocols, distributed system design, and fault-tolerant communication
• Knowledge of Linux internals: namespaces, IPC, scheduling, memory management, and device drivers
• Proficiency in Docker orchestration using Nomad or Kubernetes.
• Familiarity with container runtimes and edge deployment strategies
• Exposure to real-time networking and distributed systems
• Leadership experience, including mentoring junior engineers, and project planning.

The pay range for this position is $108,000 - $162,000/yr+ benefits+equity; however, base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Base pay information is based on market location.

More About Working Here
Our Core Values:

• Safety. We consider safety in everything we do.
• People. We care about our teammates as people.
• Encouragement. We encourage teaching, asking questions, and sharing opinions.
• Transparency. We are transparent and sincere in our actions.

A robust set of benefits and perks:

• Comprehensive benefits. Health, Dental, Vision, and a 401k matching program, to boot
• Flexible working schedule. Be productive when you work best.
• Show & Tell. We love to learn from one another, and see the cool stuff everyone is working on
• Meals are covered. Lunch is provided every day, and dinner for those evenings that run long.
• Stacks of snacks. Donuts are a main food group, and the snack shelf is always stocked with a wide variety of items.
• Great teammates. One of the best parts of working here

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We value each person's expertise and experiences. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.

All qualified applicants able to work in the United States are encouraged to apply.