Role taxonomy

The full map of what we recruit.

Robotics and AI organizations don't fit a generic role chart. This is how we think about the talent — grouped by function, calibrated by stage, and screened against the skills that actually matter.

01 / Autonomy & Robotics Software

The stack that turns sensors into motion.

The roles that own the autonomy stack — perception, state estimation, planning, and control. Where most of our deepest searches happen.

IC3 → Staff

Perception Engineer

2D/3D object detection, segmentation, tracking. Camera, lidar, radar, fusion. Often a CV or ML background with deployment chops.

IC4 → Staff

SLAM / Localization Engineer

Visual-inertial odometry, factor graphs, multi-sensor fusion. The folks who can debug a drifting map at 2am.

IC3 → Staff

Motion Planning Engineer

Sampling-based and optimization-based planners. From wheeled platforms to manipulation to humanoid locomotion.

IC3 → Principal

Controls Engineer

MPC, LQR, classical and learned control. Deep familiarity with the dynamics of the platform — wheeled, legged, aerial, or arm.

IC3 → Staff

Robotics Software Engineer

ROS / ROS 2, real-time systems, system integration, behavior trees. The generalist who keeps the autonomy stack glued.

IC3 → Staff

Simulation Engineer

Isaac Sim, Gazebo, custom simulators. Synthetic data, domain randomization, sim-to-real evaluation harnesses.

02 / Machine Learning & AI

From research to production model.

The applied ML and platform engineers who get models off the lab GPU and into the robot — or the cloud workload that powers it.

PhD / Staff

ML Research Scientist

Foundation models, world models, behavior cloning, imitation, reinforcement learning. Publication track or equivalent industry depth.

IC3 → Staff

Applied ML Engineer

Train, fine-tune, evaluate, ship. Strong on data, eval, ablation, and the pragmatic engineering between research and production.

IC4 → Staff

ML Platform Engineer

Distributed training infra, GPU orchestration, model registries, eval pipelines. The folks who make the ML team's lives possible.

IC3 → Staff

MLOps / Eval Engineer

Continuous eval, regression detection, dataset versioning, model deployment, drift monitoring. Rigor over heroics.

IC3 → Staff

Data Engineer (ML)

Petabyte-scale ingestion, log processing, training data curation, query layers. Often the unsung hero of an ML org.

IC3 → Staff

Foundation Models / LLM Eng

Pre-training, post-training, RLHF, distillation, evals. Embodied-AI variants for robotics applications.

03 / Hardware & Embedded

The physical side of physical AI.

Robotics is an integration sport. We recruit the engineers who design, build, and integrate the actual machines — and the firmware that makes them move.

IC3 → Staff

Embedded / Firmware Engineer

RTOS, C/C++, low-latency communication, sensor drivers, motor control. Bare-metal to Linux userspace.

IC3 → Principal

Mechatronics Engineer

Cross-disciplinary engineers who think across mechanical, electrical, and software. Often the technical backbone of an early robotics team.

IC3 → Principal

Mechanical Engineer

Mechanism design, structural analysis, DFM. From prototype CAD to mass production tooling and supplier qualification.

IC3 → Principal

Electrical Engineer

Schematic, layout, power electronics, signal integrity. Robotics-specific: motor drivers, battery systems, sensor frontends.

IC3 → Staff

Test & Validation Engineer

Hardware-in-the-loop, environmental, durability, regulatory. Builds the test infrastructure that catches failures before customers do.

Manager → Director

Hardware Operations

NPI, supply chain, contract manufacturing, quality. The leaders who turn a working prototype into a shipped product.

04 / Product, Ops & Leadership

The people who turn engineering into a company.

A great robotics or AI team is more than its engineers. We recruit the product, operations, and leadership talent that lets the engineering bet pay off.

Senior → Director

Robotics / AI Product Manager

PMs who can spec a behavior, write a model card, and translate a customer need into a roadmap. Rare and valuable.

Lead → Manager

Annotation / Data Ops Lead

Builds and runs labeling pipelines and QA loops, often with offshore teams. Treats data ops as engineering, not back-office.

Senior → Manager

Field / Deployment Engineer

The person who lives at the customer site and makes the robot actually work in the wild. Half engineer, half customer success.

Director → VP

VP Engineering / Head of Autonomy

Senior leaders who've built and scaled robotics or AI orgs through the next stage. Hire calibration, panel design, technical strategy.

VP → C-Level

CTO / Founding Engineer

The first engineering leader at a new robotics or AI startup. We've placed several. We know what closes and what doesn't.

Director → VP

Head of Talent

The TA leader who'll build the function we'd otherwise embed. Often a hire we facilitate after a year of running RPO.

Don't see the exact role? It's still in our wheelhouse.

If it touches robotics, autonomy, or applied AI, we recruit for it. Send us the JD and we'll tell you what's realistic on comp, geography, and timing.