Senior Software Development Engineer, Teleoperation

Amazon is seeking exceptional talent to help develop the next generation of advanced robotics systems that will transform automation at Amazon's scale. We're building robotic systems that combine cutting-edge AI, sophisticated control systems, and advanced mechanical design to create adaptable automation solutions capable of working safely alongside humans in dynamic environments. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of robotics and automation at an unprecedented scale, working with world-class teams pushing the boundaries of what's possible in robotic dexterous manipulation, locomotion, and human-robot interaction. This role presents an opportunity to shape the future of robotics through innovative applications of the latest software and AI tools for robots.

At Amazon we leverage advanced robotics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to solve complex operational challenges at an unprecedented scale. Our fleet of robots operates across hundreds of facilities worldwide, working in sophisticated coordination to fulfill our mission of customer excellence.

We are building the brains of our next-generation robots - a stack that:
- Enables deployment of robots at Amazon scale
- Enables unprecedented generalization across diverse tasks
- Seamlessly integrates with large models and optimal control techniques
- Integrates with human-safe safety solutions

As a Senior Software Development Engineer, you will be the technical lead for robot teleoperation and remote assistance. Teleoperation is how we collect the demonstrations our robot learning models are trained on, and how robots in the field get help instead of stopping. You will own the architecture across the on-robot teleoperation service, the robot-to-operator link, the operator applications, and the cloud services behind remote operation. You will lead designs across applied science, whole-body control, safety, and cloud teams, and help build the team.

Join us in building the next generation of intelligent robotics systems that will transform the future of automation and human-robot collaboration.

Key job responsibilities
- Own the teleoperation architecture, from the robot to the operator station to the cloud, and lead the engineers building it
- Take teleoperation from the local network to remote operators over the internet, Wi-Fi, and cellular networks we don't control, where latency is high and hard to predict
- Work out with the teams how operators and autonomy share control, and keep the robot safe when the link fails
- Work with applied scientists on what operators see and control, from high-level guidance like pointing at an object to direct control
- Partner with our cloud platform team so operators anywhere can securely connect to robots that need help, and each request reaches an available operator
- Set the test strategy for teleoperation, so latency and reliability are checked with network emulation, simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop tests before anything reaches a deployed robot
- Work directly with operators to find what slows them down, and measure operator efficiency, such as robots per operator and time to resolve a request
- Mentor engineers, lead design reviews, and drive build-versus-buy evaluations

Basic qualifications

- 5+ years of non-internship professional software development experience
- 5+ years of programming with at least one software programming language experience
- 5+ years of leading design or architecture (design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems experience
- Experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team
- Bachelors or Master's degree, or 10+ years in CS, ME, EE or related field experience
- Experience designing and shipping software for remotely operating or assisting robots or other machines in real time, such as teleoperation, remote assistance, or operator tools

Preferred qualifications

- Master's degree or PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
- Experience leading teleoperation, remote operation, or remote assistance systems for robots or autonomous vehicles in production
- Experience designing and shipping software for physical robots, autonomous vehicles, or other real-time embedded systems
- Experience with low-latency video and real-time communication over wide-area and cellular networks (e.g., WebRTC, QUIC, relay servers, congestion control, adaptive bitrate, hardware video encoding)
- Experience designing robot control that tolerates communication delay, such as shared autonomy, supervisory control, predictive displays, or latency compensation
- Experience with VR or XR operator interfaces (e.g., OpenXR, Unity), haptic feedback, or retargeting human motion to robot arms and hands Experience integrating with robot safety systems and designing fail-safe behavior, such as watchdogs, safe stops, and link-loss handling Experience integrating robots or connected devices with cloud services for remote access, such as video relays or session management
- Experience with robotics middleware like ROS 2, DDS, LCM, or Zenoh
- Experience building data pipelines for robot learning from demonstrations and interventions (e.g. imitation learning)
- Experience using AI coding assistants and agents to speed up development, with sound judgment about reviewing and verifying their output
- Excellent written and verbal communication, with a track record of leading technical work across science and engineering teams

Amazon is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of protected veteran status, disability, or other legally protected status.

Our inclusive culture empowers Amazonians to deliver the best results for our customers. If you have a disability and need a workplace accommodation or adjustment during the application and hiring process, including support for the interview or onboarding process, please visit https://amazon.jobs/content/en/how-we-hire/accommodations for more information. If the country/region you’re applying in isn’t listed, please contact your Recruiting Partner.

The base salary range for this position is listed below. Your Amazon package will include sign-on payments and restricted stock units (RSUs). Final compensation will be determined based on factors including experience, qualifications, and location. Amazon also offers comprehensive benefits including health insurance (medical, dental, vision, prescription, Basic Life & AD&D insurance and option for Supplemental life plans, EAP, Mental Health Support, Medical Advice Line, Flexible Spending Accounts, Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement coverage), 401(k) matching, paid time off, and parental leave. Learn more about our benefits at https://amazon.jobs/en/benefits.

USA, MA, N.Reading - 168,100.00 - 227,400.00 USD annually
USA, MA, Wilmington - 168,100.00 - 227,400.00 USD annually