Principal Software Engineer

Role:

Principal Software Engineer - Platform Owner (Hands-on)

Context:

At Furhat Robotics we build social humanoid robots that talk, listen, and interact with people in the real world.

Our robots are already used by universities, research labs, hospitals, and innovation teams around the world to study and deploy human-AI interaction.

This isn’t a prototype or a pitch deck.

It’s a real, shipped product running globally.

Technically, it’s a rare mix of:

• hardware
• realtime systems
• SDKs
• cloud services
• AI/LLMs
• developer tools

We’re profitable and small (~20 people).

We’re not trying to build a big engineering organization.

We want one very strong engineer who can own the whole platform.

The role (plainly):

You will take full ownership of engineering.

Not manage it.

Not coordinate it.

Own it.

If something breaks, ships late, or feels messy - it’s yours to fix.

If things run smoothly - you did your job.

You’ll work directly with the CEO, our CSO (research), and our product manager.

We have two junior consultants today. You’ll lead them and decide how we build going forward.

What you’ll actually do:

Expect 80-90% hands-on coding/building/fixing.

This is not a management role.

You will:

• Own the robot platform (Java)
• Own the SDK (Kotlin)
• Own internal tools (React)
• Own APIs and backend services
• Own cloud & DevOps (AWS/Azure)
• Run CI/CD and releases
• Clean up legacy and simplify architecture
• Break roadmap into shipped features
• Guide/mentor junior engineers and consultants
• Hire very selectively when truly needed

When engineering is slow or fragile, you fix the system - not add headcount.

What success looks like:

After 6-12 months:

• Releases are predictable
• Shipping is faster
• Fewer fires
• Cleaner architecture
• Consultants need less babysitting
• Furhat engineering has momentum and continues to lead with software capabilities

Who this is for:

You probably:

• Are excited about AI and robotics
• Are excited about building a reliable platform developers (specifically researchers) love to use
• Have been a founding engineer, principal engineer, or startup CTO before
• Have taken messy systems and made them reliable
• Like owning things end-to-end
• Prefer small teams over big orgs
• Are comfortable working independently
• Don’t need a lot of process or meetings
• Like coding more than managing
• Solve problems with automation and simplification, not hiring
• Communicate clearly and take initiative

You don’t need robotics experience.

Strong backend/platform experience is more important.

Who this is NOT for:

This will not be a good fit if you:

• Want to build or manage a large engineering org
• Prefer delegating over coding
• Need lots of structure or process to make progress
• Want a big team around you
• Like titles more than ownership

We intentionally keep the team small and senior.

Tech stack:

• Java (robot platform)
• Kotlin/Python (SDK)
• React (frontend)
• C++ (computer vision/audio)
• APIs / backend services
• AWS + Azure
• GitHub + CI/CD
• Linux based OS
• Some AI/LLM integrations

Practical details:

• Stockholm (onsite)
• Small team
• Direct access to founders
• Competitive Salary
• Meaningful equity
• Real ownership and autonomy

This role is closer to being a technical co-founder than a typical employee.

If this sounds exciting rather than scary, we should talk.

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About us:

Furhat Robotics builds social humanoid robots that interact with people face-to-face.

Our robots are already deployed in universities, research labs, hospitals, and innovation teams across Europe, the US, and Asia.

They’re used to:

• study human, AI interaction
• teach and train
• prototype AI assistants
• explore how people will work with embodied AI systems

This isn’t research code or a demo.

It’s a real hardware + software platform with paying customers, used daily around the world.

We’re a small (~20 people), profitable company focused on building a solid product, not chasing hypergrowth or headcount.

If you like working on something tangible and technically deep, robotics, realtime systems, SDKs, cloud, AI, this is that rare mix.