Location: Seattle, WA (On-site)
Salary: $120,000 – $150,000 + equity + bonuses
Employment Type: Full-time
Sector: Robotics / Ag-Tech
We’re representing a fast-moving robotics startup designing autonomous machines to solve one of farming’s toughest challenges: weeds. With early clients already using the system and production in sight, they’re now looking for a Principal Software Engineer to define and own the company’s robotics software stack from the ground up.
What You’ll Be Doing
-
Architect and build a robust, real-time, production-grade robotics software system
-
Develop embedded systems, containerized services, and real-time controls
-
Spend ~15% of your time in the field testing and debugging in real farming environments
-
Take ownership across infrastructure, perception, and DevOps
-
Work directly with the founding team in a high-autonomy, fast-feedback loop environment
Breakdown
-
40% Core systems: real-time controls, sensor fusion, decision-making
-
25% Embedded: hardware-software integration on constrained devices
-
20% Infrastructure: CI/CD, Docker, deployment tooling
-
15% Field testing: debugging under pressure (and possibly irrigation)
Must-Haves
-
Strong experience in Rust and Python
-
Deep knowledge of Linux (networking, systemd, kernel)
-
Comfort with Docker, containerization, and embedded development
-
5+ years of building and shipping production software
-
Hardware/software boundary experience, scrappy engineering mindset
-
US Citizen or Green Card holder (no sponsorship available)
Nice-to-Haves
-
Exposure to CV/ML, distributed systems, or ag-tech environments
-
Experience in robotics, automation, or resource-constrained systems
-
Previous startup or high-autonomy engineering experience
Why Join
-
Define the software architecture from day one
-
Ship robots into the real world, not a lab
-
Get meaningful equity in a startup solving a physical, impactful problem
-
Join a small, passionate team focused on real progress over polish
If you’re tired of being one tiny part of a huge machine, and want to help build the actual machine, this could be your thing.
Contact
Oliver Porter
📧 [email protected]
Apply for this role
Tell us a little about yourself and attach your CV.