Staff Robotics Software Engineer

At Relativity Space, we’re building rockets to serve today’s needs and tomorrow’s breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that’s just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven’t been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you’re in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you’ll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we’re writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it’s early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team:  

The additive technology team leads research and development of Relativity’s Stargate 3D-printing platform and factory operating system to produce large-scale metal structures for the industrial base. The team works with robotics engineers, data scientists, systems engineers, and welders to advance Relativity’s innovative tech stack, which leverages autonomy, advanced simulation, machine learning, and robotics. Working at the intersection of hardware and software, the team is creating a unified platform that can perform additive manufacturing, in-situ monitoring, NDE, and subtraction capabilities in a single print cell. Progressing in parallel to Terran R development, Relativity’s breakthroughs in large-scale additive manufacturing have the potential to revolutionize the defense industrial base. 

About the Role: 

The Robotics and Perception Engineering Team is building out a novel type of cooperative robotic platform that utilizes our large-scale additive manufacturing systems. We will be inventing and innovating new ways to have cooperative robots create structures. Our team provides a system with which custom robots and additive systems can be built and integrated seamlessly. As a Staff Advanced Robotics Engineer, you will play a key role in the development and integration of robotics software and hardware for a cooperative robotics platform.  You will be implementing perception systems (LiDAR, Area 3D Scanners, Motion Capture) with autonomous robots, robotic arms and AGVs to cooperatively complete tasks.  You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to design, implement, and test innovative solutions that push the boundaries of robotics and additive technologies.

About You:  

• BS, MS, or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field
• Experience in robotics software development: Particularly in C++ and embedded environments
• Experience utilizing data processing algorithms for real-time applications
• Experience with robotics kinematics, motion control, and multi-robot coordination and in debugging and troubleshooting software and hardware issues in complex robotic systems
• Knowledge of robotics middleware and frameworks: Such as ROS (Robot Operating System)
• Understanding of safety protocols and standards in industrial robotics: Familiarity with safety regulations and best practices in robotic systems

Nice to haves but not required:  

• Experience with industrial robot manipulators: Familiarity with industrial robot manipulators such as KUKA, ABB, Universal Robots, etc. Ability to interface with and program these robots for various tasks, including manipulation and assembly
• Knowledge of robotic weld systems: Understanding of robotic welding systems and processes, including programming weld paths, optimizing parameters, and ensuring weld quality. Experience with welding robot in