Senior Software Engineer - Manipulation in Zürich

I’m recruiting on behalf of an early stage robotics company building the next generation of robotic hands and manipulation systems.

They’re looking for a Senior Software Engineer to take ownership of the software stack behind the product from low-level control through to the higher-level systems, simulation, teleoperation and the ML pipelines that make the hands capable.

This is a hands-on role where you won’t be maintaining one small part of an established system. You’ll be taking an existing open-source stack and turning it into a deliberate, scalable software platform.

What you’ll own

• The company's GitHub repository and open-source software stack




• Software and control systems for robotic hands




• Reinforcement Learning (RL) and/or Imitation Learning (IL)




• Retargeting, teleoperation and simulation




• Full-stack applications and tooling around the robot




• Demos that showcase what the hardware and software can actually do




• CI/CD, releases, packaging and developer experience




• Working directly with the hardware and engineering team to take systems from concept through to working product

What we're looking for

• Strong Python skills, with the ability to work in C/C++ when hardware and low-level systems demand it




• Hands-on experience with robotic hands and/or humanoid robotics




• Experience with one or more of RL, IL, retargeting, teleoperation or simulation in robotics




• Full-stack experience building applications across the software/control stack




• Experience working with physical robotics hardware, not purely simulation




• Experience managing a GitHub repository, reviewing PRs, cutting releases, maintaining documentation and keeping the codebase usable




• CI/CD and release engineering experience, ideally with GitHub Actions, Python packaging and PyPI

Nice to have

• ROS or equivalent robotics software experience




• Firmware / embedded software experience




• Experience with foundation models for robotics




• Strong understanding of robotic manipulation




• An eye for how robotics demos are presented, not just how they run

The opportunity

You’ll join a small engineering team at a stage where your work will have a direct impact on the product and technical direction.

The role starts as a Senior Software Engineer, with a clear path towards Tech Lead / Founding Engineer-level responsibility and equity as the team grows.

You’ll also have the opportunity to work closely with interns and engineers across software, robotics, mechanical and electrical engineering.

There is no requirement for a PhD. Strong industry experience, internships, university work or serious personal robotics projects can all be relevant.

Competitive startup compensation + equity. Relocation and visa sponsorship available.

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