Software Engineer – Task & Motion Planning
Confirmed on the employer's own hiring board on Oct 29, 2026. First seen by Alion on Sep 3, 2026. Pickle Robot scores A on the Alion truth index.
We're looking for a Software Engineer to join our Task & Motion Planning team, which decides what our robots pick, how they grasp it, and how they move safely and quickly through a cluttered, changing trailer. We're looking for someone who brings strong software engineering fundamentals, a track record of shipping production code, and a genuine interest in motion planning and grasping.
You'll design and build fast, reliable, well-tested planning systems that run on real robots every day. Your code will directly affect how many boxes come off a truck per hour and how often a robot needs a human's help, and you'll see those results on the warehouse floor.
What You'll Do
Design, build, and maintain production C++ and Python components of our planning stack, including motion planning, grasp selection, collision checking, and task sequencing
Take algorithms, your own and your teammates', from prototype to deployment, owning the architecture, performance, and robustness of the implementation
Profile and optimize performance-critical code so planners meet real-time cycle-time targets on robot hardware
Build the testing, simulation, and benchmarking infrastructure that lets the team change planning code with confidence
Improve the reliability of the planning stack in the field by debugging failures from production logs, building tooling for triage, and fixing root causes
Help raise the bar for code quality through design reviews, code reviews, and good engineering practices
What You'll Bring
2-4 years of experience writing and shipping production software, primarily in modern C++ (C++17 or later), with working proficiency in Python
Strong fundamentals in software design, data structures, algorithms, and performance optimization
Experience owning components end-to-end: design, implementation, testing, deployment, and ongoing support
Solid understanding of concurrency, memory management, and profiling tools
A real interest in motion planning, manipulation, and grasping, and eagerness to go deep on the algorithms alongside domain experts
Comfort working close to hardware and debugging problems that span software and the physical world
Hands-on experience with motion planning or manipulation (e.g., sampling-based or optimization-based planners, trajectory generation, grasp planning)
Experience with CUDA or GPU performance optimization
Familiarity with robotics libraries and frameworks such as OMPL, Drake, FCL, or Pinocchio
Background in 3D geometry, kinematics, or linear algebra (Eigen or similar)
Experience with simulation environments and large-scale regression testing for robotics or other safety-critical systems
Experience deploying software on physical robots in production environments