Robot Operations 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 youll fit right in.

Third Wave Automation is applying modern machine learning to materials handlingdelivering 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 looking for a Robot Operations Engineer to be a critical contributor in scaling our fleet of autonomous forklifts. This is a crucial hands-on role that blends Quality Assurance (QA) testing with System Operations to ensure the reliability and performance of our product. You will be a key link between our development team and our products performance working with field Operations and Development engineers to identify analyze and resolve performance and functional issues.

This position is based in our company HQ and will be hands-on in our lab testing and supporting our fleet of semi-autonomous robots ensuring the quality of every software and hardware release. Your contributions will be central to driving the operational maturity required to support our rapid growth and shaping our product roadmap.

What You Will Be Doing

• Own On-Site Testing & QA: Design execute and meticulously document rigorous test plans for new software and hardware releases on our in-office autonomous forklift fleet.
• System Operation & Reliability: Proactively monitor and maintain the health and uptime of the test fleet identifying reproducing and tracking potential issues including providing support for in-field robots.
• Improve Testing Infrastructure: Develop custom software solutionssuch as Python scripts data analysis tools and automation frameworksto accelerate testing and improve the efficiency of the QA process.
• Collaborate and Report: Work closely with Autonomy and Product teams to communicate test results reproduce complex bugs and drive timely resolution of performance issues.

We are at a critical inflection point. TWAs market-leading solution is ready to scale and we need engineers ready to build whats 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

• Own On-Site Testing & QA: Design execute and meticulously document rigorous test plans for new software and hardware releases on our in-office autonomous forklift fleet ensuring the highest product quality.
• Drive System Reliability: Proactively monitor and maintain the health and uptime of the test fleet identifying reproducing and tracking potential system issues including providing technical support for in-field robots.
• Develop Testing Infrastructure: As a primarily software-focused engineer you will develop custom toolingsuch as Python scripts data analysis frameworks and automationto accelerate testing and improve QA efficiency.
• Perform System-Level Debugging: Dive into complex system logs and networked environments (vehicle edge cloud) to troubleshoot low-level performance issues and ensure reliability under real-world conditions.
• Collaborate and Report: Act as the key link between product performance and development working closely with Autonomy and Product teams to communicate test results and drive timely resolution of bugs.

Desired QualificationsExperience: Experience:

• 3 years of hands-on experience working with robots autonomous vehicles or complex electromechanical systems.
• Testing & QA Expertise: Solid experience with testing software including developing and executing comprehensive test plans and proficiency in various testing methodologies (e.g. system integration acceptance).
• Technical Stack: Proficiency in Linux and strong skills in at least one key language for scripting and tooling (Python is highly preferred).
• Robotics Hardware: Experience using multiple robot sensors (e.g. Lidar cameras IMUs) and mechanical aptitude with the ability to perform basic robot troubleshooting and repairs.
• Soft Skills: Strong planning execution and organization skills with a demonstrable history of project ownership and results.

Bonus Points For

• Robotics Ecosystem: Experience with ROS or similar robotics middleware.
• System Environments: Prior experience in autonomous vehicles or other real-time/safety-critical systems.
• CI/CD & Automation: Familiarity with continuous integration (CI) and automated software testing processes.
• Deployment & Debugging: Exposure to automated build deployment or infrastructure tools (e.g. Docker Kubernetes) including debugging skills in C and exposure to real-time networking and distributed systems.
• Growth Potential: Leadership experience including mentoring junior engineers and project planning.

The pay range for this position is $118700 - $162000/yr benefitsequity; 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 persons 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.