Staff Software Engineer, Software Systems

Brain Corp is a San Diego, California, USA-based AI company creating transformative core technology for the robotics industry. Our purpose is to create autonomous technology that helps the real world work better. Brain's robotic and AI solutions help retailers ensure that the right product is on the right shelf at the right price, in a clean environment. Through the BrainOS® Robotics Platform, which powers the largest global fleet of the Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) in operation in commercial public spaces, Brain Corp delivers insightful and efficient automated solutions in both commercial floor cleaning and inventory management, empowering organizations and their employees to achieve more. Brain Corp currently powers more than 50,000 AMRs, representing the largest fleet of its kind in the world. Brain Corp is funded by the SoftBank Vision Fund, Clearbridge, and Qualcomm Ventures.

Named a top workplace by the San Diego Union Tribune and USA today in 2025, we make life-changing impacts through innovation, helping workers globally unlock their abilities in orchestration with intelligent machines.

Position Overview :

The Staff Software Engineer is a key technical leader within Brain Corp’s Platform team, responsible for the architecture, evolution, and performance of core software systems powering our autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). This includes ownership of the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), telemetry systems, and core C++ middleware.This role is highly hands-on and strategic, driving the re-architecture of foundational robotics software to improve modularity, scalability, and performance. The engineer will lead technical direction across HAL and middleware layers, enabling efficient sensor integration, new hardware bring-up, and high-performance execution on embedded systems. Working cross-functionally with hardware, autonomy and applications teams, this role will ensure that our robotics platform supports rapid innovation, robust field performance, and scalable deployment across a global fleet.

Essential Job Functions:

Lead the technical direction and architecture of the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL), ensuring modularity, scalability, and long-term maintainability

Drive the migration and re-architecture of HAL to support next-generation robotics platforms and evolving hardware requirements

Own the design and evolution of the robotics telemetry and replay systems, improving observability, reliability, and data quality

Lead the migration of middleware components from Python to high-performance C++ implementations

Architect and develop robust C++ middleware enabling efficient communication between sensors, compute, and autonomy systems

Integrate and bring up new hardware components, including sensors such as LiDARs, cameras, and IMUs

Optimize system performance across the robotics stack, including latency, throughput, memory usage, and CPU efficiency

Collaborate closely with hardware, apps, autonomy, and QA teams to ensure seamless system integration and deployment

Establish and enforce best practices in software design, code quality, testing, and documentation

Provide technical mentorship and leadership to engineers, guiding design reviews and complex debugging efforts

Contribute hands-on code to critical components while balancing long-term architectural improvements

Drive continuous improvement of development workflows, testing strategies, and system reliability

Education and/or Work Experience Requirements :

Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical field

7+ years of professional software engineering experience

Proven experience working on robotics systems, embedded platforms, or hardware abstraction layers (HAL)

Demonstrated experience leading complex technical initiatives or driving architectural changes in production systems

Required Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other Characteristics :

Expert-level proficiency in modern C++ (C++11 or later), including multithreading, memory management, and performance optimization

Strong Python skills for scripting, tooling, and system integration

Deep understanding of hardware abstraction layers and low-level system design

Hands-on experience integrating sensors such as LiDARs, cameras, and IMUs into production systems

Strong experience with Linux-based development environments (e.g., Ubuntu)

Experience designing and developing middleware systems or inter-process communication frameworks

Familiarity with communication protocols such as MQTT, or similar paradigms

Experience with build systems (e.g., CMake) and unit testing frameworks (e.g., Google Test)

Proven ability to design scalable, maintainable, and modular system architectures

Strong debugging and troubleshooting skills in complex robotics or embedded environments

Experience with system performance profiling and optimization (CPU, memory, latency, throughput)

Proficiency with version control systems such as Git

Excellent communication skills and ability to provide technical leadership and mentorship without direct management responsibility

Things that Make a Difference:

Experience with Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) or similar robotic systems

Prior experience leading or contributing to large-scale system re-architecture or migration efforts

Experience designing or improving telemetry and observability systems

Familiarity with custom middleware architectures (non-ROS environments)

Background in real-time or near-real-time systems

Experience working at the intersection of hardware and software integration

Passion for robotics, automation, and building high-performance, scalable systems

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. Essential functions may require maintaining the physical condition necessary for sitting, walking or standing for periods of time; operating a computer and keyboard; use of hands to finger and grasp; talk and hear at normal room levels; visual acuity to determine the accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of the work assigned or to make general observations of facilities or structures; push or pull up to 20 pounds.

Salary Range:

The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in San Diego, California is $187,182 to $233,978. The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and length of experience within the job, type and length of experience within the industry, education, etc. Brain Corp is a multi-state employer and this salary range may not reflect positions that work in other states.

In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of:

A discretionary annual target bonus

Stock options

401(k) plan with match (no waiting period and immediate vesting)

Comprehensive suite of insurance benefits for employees (and their families) to include a variety of medical plan options (including an HSA with employer contribution), dental, vision, life and disability insurance, Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Legal/Identity support plans, pet insurance.

Access to Flexible Spending Accounts (Medical and Dependent Care)

Generous paid time off including flexible vacation, Paid Sick Leave, time off for volunteering in the community, 10 paid company holidays, and a winter company shutdown

Additional Perks include:

Daily on-site lunch available in the San Diego office

On-campus gym including pool and tennis courts in the San Diego office

Opportunities to connect with colleagues including monthly game nights, hikes, wellness challenges, and community events

Internal continuous learning events

Opportunities to share your own interests and hobbies with the Company