What are the responsibilities and job description for the Senior Robotics Motion Planning Engineer position at Motion Recruitment?
A fast-growing robotics company in the Boston area is reinventing automotive service through cutting-edge robotics and automation. Their technology combines ROS 2, MoveIt 2, multi-axis robotic systems, motion planning, collision avoidance, and advanced trajectory control to automate tire changing and wheel balancing.
This is a unique opportunity for a Senior Robotics Engineer to become the technical owner of motion planning for a robotic platform unlike anything you’ve worked on before. You’ll be working directly with physical robots—not just simulations—solving challenging problems around multi-axis motion, kinematics, collision avoidance, and real-time trajectory execution. The team is small, highly technical, and hands-on, giving you the opportunity to have a major influence on architecture and technical direction while taking your robotics expertise from development all the way into real-world production and field deployment.
Required Skills & Experience
Tech Breakdown
Posted By: Ava Fraulo
This is a unique opportunity for a Senior Robotics Engineer to become the technical owner of motion planning for a robotic platform unlike anything you’ve worked on before. You’ll be working directly with physical robots—not just simulations—solving challenging problems around multi-axis motion, kinematics, collision avoidance, and real-time trajectory execution. The team is small, highly technical, and hands-on, giving you the opportunity to have a major influence on architecture and technical direction while taking your robotics expertise from development all the way into real-world production and field deployment.
Required Skills & Experience
- 2 years of hands-on experience with MoveIt or MoveIt 2 in production or near-production systems
- Deep expertise in motion planning algorithms including RRT, RRT*, PRM, CHOMP, STOMP, or TrajOpt
- Strong C and/or Python experience within the ROS 2 ecosystem
- Strong understanding of forward and inverse kinematics
- Experience with kinematic solvers such as KDL, TRAC-IK, or equivalent
- Experience with collision avoidance and safety-aware motion planning
- Experience configuring URDF/SRDF models and planning scenes
- Experience working with robotic hardware and actuator constraints
- Strong understanding of velocity, acceleration, and joint limits
- Experience developing production-grade robotics software
- Experience with robotic simulation environments
- BS/MS/PhD in Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or related field
- Experience with industrial automation, automotive equipment, or complex mechatronic systems
- Experience with multi-manipulator or non-traditional robotic platforms
- Experience with real-time trajectory execution or hardware-in-the-loop testing
- Experience with safety-rated motion control
- Experience with motor control, drive systems, HAL, or low-level firmware
- Experience with LiDAR, depth cameras, IMUs, PCL, Open3D, SLAM, or point cloud processing
- Experience with perception-driven or reactive motion planning
Tech Breakdown
- 40% C / Python / ROS 2 / MoveIt 2
- 25% Motion Planning / Kinematics / Trajectory Optimization
- 20% Robotics Hardware Integration & Testing
- 15% Simulation / Debugging / System Development
- 50% Hands On
- 0% Management Duties
- 50% Team Collaboration
- Competitive Base Salary
- Bonus eligible
- Medical, Dental, and Vision Insurance
- Vacation Time
- Stock Options
Posted By: Ava Fraulo