Sr. AI Robotics Engineer

Location: Sedro-Woolley,Washington,United States

Janicki Industries is an innovative, family-owned aerospace company located at the foot of the Cascades. We focus on engineering and manufacturing complex projects for companies in the aerospace, defense, and space industries. We are looking for a Sr. AI Robotics Engineer to join our growing team.

This position is located on-site in Sedro Woolley, Washington State.

POSITION DESCRIPTION 

Join a new, high-impact Robotics & AI team chartered with deploying next-generation intelligent automation. You will design, develop, integrate, and continuously improve AI-enhanced robotic systems (manipulators, mobile platforms, cobots) that perform manufacturing tasks and support with increasing levels of autonomy.

This is a hands-on individual contributor role with immediate leadership/mentoring responsibilities. You’ll work side-by-side with mechanical, electrical, and manufacturing engineers in a fast-moving production environment where prototypes go live on the shop floor in days or weeks—not months.

The following essential job functions are performed as an Sr. AI Robotics Engineer:

• Architect and implement perception systems (2D/3D vision, point clouds, force/torque) using modern AI frameworks
• Train, deploy, and iterate on object-detection, segmentation, pose estimation, and anomaly-detection models in real manufacturing settings
• Apply reinforcement learning and other advanced techniques to improve robot dexterity, path planning, and error recovery
• Develop on-edge AI solutions using NVIDIA Jetson platforms (Orin, Xavier, etc.)
• Integrate industrial robots (Fanuc, ABB, KUKA, Universal Robots, etc.) with vision and AI pipelines
• Write robust production-grade Python code, manage repositories in Git, and containerize solutions with Docker
• Stand up and maintain development/workstation environments (Linux/Windows, ROS/ROS2, CUDA, virtual machines, etc.)
• Mentor junior engineers and collaborate cross-functionally with ME, EE, and manufacturing teams
• Rapidly prototype, validate on the floor, and transition solutions to sustained operations
• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS

• Due to our ITAR and EAR regulations, applicants must be a US Citizen or of Legal Permanent Resident Status as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b (a) (3).
• This position requires the ability to obtain a U.S. Secret Security Clearance (U.S. Citizenship Required).  Janicki will assist with gaining this access once employed. Special Access Program or other Government Access Requirements are mandatory for this position and requires candidate agreed to enter a Continuous Evaluation program.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE 

• 10+ years of relevant engineering experience spanning robotics and AI required.  MS or PhD in Robotics, AI, or related field preferred
• Experience in aerospace or similarly regulated manufacturing preferred
• Previous work with Isaac Sim, MoveIt, or other advanced robotics frameworks preferred
• Deep hands-on experience with industrial robot programming, integration, and deployment
• Proven track record shipping applied AI/ML solutions (object detection, model training/re-training loops, reinforcement learning, etc.) in real-world environments
• Strong background in robot perception (cameras, LiDAR, structured light, force sensing)
• Extensive NVIDIA Jetson development experience (JetPack, TensorRT, DeepStream, Isaac ROS, etc.)
• Expert-level Python, common AI ecosystems (PyTorch/TensorFlow, OpenCV, PCL, ROS/ROS2), and modern dev-ops tooling (Git, Docker, CI/CD)
• Comfortable installing, configuring, and troubleshooting Linux/Windows systems, VMs, and complex development environments
• Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, or closely related field from an ABET-accredited, competitive university
• Demonstrated ability to mentor engineers and lead technically without formal authority
• Thrives in cross-disciplinary hardware + software environments
• Bias for action, fast pace, and getting results with minimal oversight
• Self-starter who can define, prioritize, and execute projects end-to-end

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 

• Salary range for this role is between $140,000 - $165,000, plus discretionary bonus, 401(k) matching, vacation, and health benefits. Employees can also receive additional pay for off-shifts. The range provided is Janicki’s estimate of the base compensation for this role. Actual amount offered will be based on job-related and non-discriminatory factors such as experience, location, education, training, skills, and abilities
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