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 30,000 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 d