About the Role
We are seeking a Senior Navigation Engineer to lead the development of navigation and path planning systems for our autonomous mobile robot (AMR) fleet operating in industrial and warehouse environments. This role requires deep expertise in motion planning algorithms, real-time controls, and fleet coordination—with proven experience deploying solutions on physical robots in production settings. This is not a planning-only role: we need someone who can design the planner, implement the controllers, and ensure smooth execution on physical hardware.

Core Responsibilities

• Own the complete planner-to-execution pipeline: from global path planning through local trajectory optimization (Local planner/controllers) to real-time controller execution (PID)
• Design, implement, and optimize motion planning algorithms (A, Hybrid A, RRT variants, lattice planners, state lattice) for warehouse and industrial navigation scenarios
• Implement and tune trajectory tracking controllers including MPC, Pure Pursuit, Stanley, and PID-based approaches for differential and Ackermann drive systems
• Develop trajectory generation and smoothing algorithms that produce dynamically feasible paths respecting velocity, acceleration, and jerk constraints
• Integrate with low-level motor controllers and handle the interface between high-level commands and hardware actuation
• Lead integration with ROS2/Nav2 stack including behavior trees, costmap layers, and custom controller/planner plugins (e.g., nav2controller, nav2planner)
• Design and implement fleet management solutions: multi-robot coordination, traffic management, task allocation, and deadlock resolution
• Debug and resolve navigation and control issues in production environments—tuning controller gains, diagnosing tracking errors, and resolving real-world edge cases.

Required Qualifications
Experience

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in AMR/AGV development or autonomous vehicle navigation
• Demonstrated track record of deploying navigation systems on physical robots in production (warehouse, manufacturing, or similar industrial environments)
• Experience building path planners from scratch—not just using off-the-shelf solutions
• Proven ability to tune and debug controllers on real hardware in warehouse, manufacturing, or similar industrial environments

Technical Skills – Motion Planning

• Deep understanding of motion planning algorithms with hands-on implementation experience (A, Hybrid A, RRT, RRT*, PRM, state lattice planners)
• Experience with trajectory optimization and smoothing (minimum jerk/snap trajectories, spline-based methods)
• Understanding of sampling-based vs. search-based planning trade-offs for different environments

Technical Skills – Controls & Execution (Critical)

• Hands-on experience implementing trajectory tracking controllers: MPC (Model Predictive Control), Pure Pursuit, Stanley, LQR, or PID-based controllers
• Strong understanding of kinematic and dynamic modeling for differential drive and Ackermann steering systems
• Experience with control system design: stability analysis, gain tuning, frequency response, and real-world controller debugging
• Ability to implement controllers that respect physical constraints (velocity limits, acceleration bounds, actuator saturation)
• Experience closing the loop from planner output to motor commands on real hardware

Technical Skills – Software & Systems

• Proficiency in C++ (modern C++14/17) with real-time systems considerations and performance optimization
• ROS2 expertise: lifecycle nodes, executors, custom message/service design, launch systems
• Experience with Nav2 stack: behavior trees, costmap layers, controller/planner plugin architecture
• Fleet management experience: multi-robot coordination, traffic management, resource contention, deadlock resolution

Education

• BS in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, or related field (MS/PhD preferred)
• Equivalent practical experience will be considered for exceptional candidates

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with localization systems (AMCL, sensor fusion, SLAM algorithms)
• Computer vision integration for perception-aware planning
• Simulation experience (Gazebo, Isaac Sim) for algorithm validation and testing
• Hands on experience working on Nvidia platforms like AGX
• Experience with safety-certified systems or functional safety standards
• Leadership experience: mentoring engineers or leading technical projects

What We Look for in Interviews
We evaluate candidates on their ability to:

• Walk through a path planner AND controller they’ve built from scratch, explaining the full pipeline from planning to execution
• Explain how they’ve tuned MPC or other trajectory tracking controllers on real hardware—what parameters they adjusted and why
• Discuss trade-offs between different planning and control approaches for warehouse/industrial environments
• Describe how they handle the interface between high-level trajectory commands and low-level motor control
• Share examples of debugging real robot navigation and control issues in production—tracking errors, oscillations, controller instability
• Explain fleet coordination challenges they’ve solved (priority handling, intersection management, resource contention)