Posted May 14, 2026
Company Description
Third Wave Automation (TWA) is a rapidly growing startup that has demonstrated its core technology components, proven its market fit, and just closed its Series C funding. If you are excited about cutting edge machine learning, robotics that affects the real world, and want to join a company where your skills can have a huge impact, you’ll fit right in. TWA is applying modern machine learning to materials handling—delivering site-specific forklift navigation and infrastructure-free pallet handling that continuously adapts to changing floor configuration and warehouse demand. Job Description
TWA is looking for experienced Robotics Engineers to join our team and work on the automation stack for our forklifts. As TWA expands with successful customer deployments, we are adding people that can help drive successful outcomes by improving and enhancing our automation software. As we are still an early stage company, the ideal candidate will be a strong generalist who can work across motion planning, vehicle command, perception and prediction and help to make the right design trade-offs as we identify new features and scope for our product. You will be part of a core team working to pioneer new solutions while also driving product maturity to support our rapid growth projections. We empower our team with an AI-first engineering culture. We believe in leveraging LLMs and generative tools to accelerate problem-solving, automate the mundane, and allow our engineers to focus on the high-level architectural and safety challenges unique to autonomous robotics. We believe in a strong coaching and mentoring culture to continuously improve our most valuable asset: our people.
Build in an AI first environment: Leverage your experience with AI-assisted tools (e.g. Cursor, Gemini, GitHub Copilot, etc.) to accelerate the SDLC, from rapid prototyping to automated test generation. - Take the Lead on Critical Features: From initial concept to full-scale deployment, you'll own the design and implementation of core automation enhancements. Your work will directly translate into improved efficiency, safety, and reliability for our customers
Solve Uncharted Problems: Leverage your deep expertise in classical robotics, planning, SLAM, and statistical data fusion to tackle the next generation of challenges in infrastructure-free navigation. You will be a hands-on developer, shaping new features that will set the industry standard
Drive Product Maturity and Scalability: As a core contributor, you will enhance vehicle and fleet performance by creating quantifiable improvements. Your insights will be crucial in ensuring our technology is robust enough to support our rapid growth and ambitious deployment goals
Influence Our Strategic Direction: As a key member of a small, empowered team, you will not just execute on a roadmap; you will help build it. Your deep understanding of real-world robotic systems will be a guiding force for our strategic planning and future product development
Lead from the Front: Beyond your individual contributions, you will provide technical leadership, mentor junior engineers, and contribute original, high-impact ideas that elevate our entire engineering organization. Minimum Qualifications
7+ years of hands-on, industry, robotics experience with end-to-end software development on products that have shipped. Final leveling and compensation will be determined by the depth of your technical expertise, demonstrated ability to lead complex architectural initiatives, and overall alignment with our mission
Bachelors Degree in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related quantitative discipline. - Track record of bringing key features from ideation to deployment. - Solid software design and development skills , with the ability to write efficient, clean, and reusable code (C++ and Python). - Fluency with AI-assisted development (e.g., Cursor, Copilot, LLMs) to augment your personal competency in creating, testing and deploying solutions. - Fluency with robotics frameworks (e.g., ROS/ROS2) and their application in real-world systems. - A firm foundation in computational geometry, sensor processing (LiDAR, Vision), and gracefully handling real-world noise and uncertainty. - Experience with motion planning algorithms, vehicle dynamics, and/or control systems and the ability to work features and resolve issues across these disciplines. - Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to articulate complex technical ideas to engineers and non-technical stakeholders. Preferred Qualifications
An advanced degree (Master's or Ph.D.) in Robotics or a related quantitative field. - Experience with perception systems, motion planning, and their integration into planning pipelines. - A strong understanding of product development processes for mission-critical systems. - A proven history of providing technical leadership and mentoring junior engineers. - Experience with supporting shipping products . - Experience in safety systems and satisfying certification requirements (e.g., ISO 3691, ISO 13849, CE Marking, etc.)
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