Senior Embedded SoC Developer , Personal Robotics Group

The Personal Robotics Group is pioneering intelligent robotic products that deliver meaningful customer experiences. We're building the next generation of robotic systems that will redefine how customers interact with technology. Our work spans the full spectrum from advanced hardware design to sophisticated software and control systems, combining mechanical innovation, software engineering, dynamic systems modeling, and intelligent algorithms to create robots that are not just functional, but delightful. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of personal robotics working with world-class teams pushing the boundaries of what's possible in robotic manipulation, locomotion, and human-robot interaction. We're seeking a Senior Embedded SoC Developer to architect and design the foundational platform software for our advanced robotic system. You'll be responsible for defining platform architecture, making critical technical decisions and leading the design of Linux-based, real-time platform software configuration, ROS 2 integration, platform services for a system coordinates with multiple compute units (SoCs, MCUs, sensors, cameras) across a distributed robotic architecture. This is a greenfield opportunity where you'll establish architectural patterns, drive technical direction, and solve complex problems at the intersection of distributed embedded systems, robotics middleware, and high performance compute. You'll work closely with the Principal Platform Software Architect to shape the platform architecture, lead technical discussions with hardware partners on multi-processor system integration, and mentor junior engineers on distributed embedded systems best practices. This role is critical for establishing the technical foundation of future robotic products and defining the architectural patterns that will scale through production. Join us if you're passionate about creating the future of personal robotics, solving complex challenges at the intersection of hardware and software, and seeing your innovations deliver transformative customer experiences., As a Senior Embedded SoC Developer, you'll lead the technical design and architecture of the Linux platform software running on our robotic system. You'll define platform architecture patterns for our primary SoC running Linux with PREEMPT_RT patches, establish kernel driver frameworks, and architect ROS 2 integration patterns that enable perception, planning, control, and AI/ML teams to build their solutions. Working as both a technical leader and hands-on architect, you'll collaborate with the Principal Platform Software Architect on distributed system strategy, work cross-functionally to ensure the platform meets performance, real-time, and integration requirements, and define technical direction for junior engineers while focusing your own efforts on the most challenging technical problems.

• Lead Linux platform architecture design for multi-core SoCs, defining real-time Linux configuration with PREEMPT_RT patches, kernel optimization strategies, and system partitioning
• Lead board bring-up and BSP development for ARM-based compute platforms, including bootloader, clocking, memory layout, and Yocto builds
• Architect kernel driver frameworks and hardware abstraction layers for sensors, cameras, and peripheral
• Establish networking, IPC, and inter-process communication infrastructure across the platform
• Develop and maintain overall Linux platform software including kernel configuration, device drivers, platform services and hardware abstraction layers
• Integrate and configure ROS 2 for robotics middleware, establishing communication patterns and real-time performance optimization
• Collaborate with Principal Platform Software Architect on implementing platform architecture patterns and API contracts
• Work with hardware partners on compute platform requirements, sensor integration, and hardware-software interfaces
• Support integration of higher-level applications including perception, planning, control, and AI/ML inference pipelines

A day in the life You'll start your day reviewing an architectural proposal from your teammate on real-time Linux kernel configuration for the A cores, providing feedback on optimization strategies and CPU isolation approaches based on your experience with high-performance robotics platforms. You'll join a technical discussion with the Principal Platform Software Architect and the safety team to define the interface architecture between the Linux A cores and the functional safety island, contributing insights on communication protocols and synchronization mechanisms. In the afternoon, you'll lead a design session with the ROS 2 integration team, architecting the middleware patterns that enable perception, planning, and control subsystems to communicate with deterministic latency while efficiently utilizing the SoC's compute resources. You'll make a critical architectural decision on kernel driver framework design for camera and sensor integration, evaluating technical trade-offs between abstraction flexibility and real-time performance. You'll then prototype an architectural concept for platform services running on the Linux partition, validating that your design approach can support diagnostics and monitoring while maintaining real-time constraints for control loops. You'll wrap up the day in a technical review, presenting your Linux platform architecture to cross-functional stakeholders including principle engineers in the safety team and AI/ML teams, and incorporating feedback into the evolving design. Throughout the day, you'll collaborate with colleagues across Linux platform software, safety software, hardware engineering, and application teams-sometimes diving deep into kernel driver details, sometimes driving architectural decisions about compute resource allocation, always focused on establishing a robust, real-time Linux platform foundation that enables the robotic platform and scales to production.

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
• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent work experience
• 8+ years of software engineering experience with at least 3 years focused on embedded Linux systems
• Strong experience with Linux-based board bring-up, BSP development, bootloaders, device trees, and kernel configuration
• Proficiency in C/C++ for embedded systems programming
• Experience with Linux kernel development, device drivers, and hardware abstraction layers
• Hands-on experience with modern embedded compute platforms (NVIDIA Jetson, Qualcomm QCS, or similar high-performance SoCs)
• Strong understanding of real-time systems concepts and performance optimization

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience architecting Linux platform software for real time applications
• Experience architecting and strong understanding of heterogeneous compute platforms featuring high-performance application CPUs
• (ARM Cortex-A or similar), GPU and real-time MCUs
• Experience designing ROS/ROS 2 architectures for production robotics systems with real-time constraints
• Experience with kernel driver development for sensors, cameras, and robotics peripherals
• Experience interfacing Linux systems with functional safety islands or real-time safety-critical systems
• Understanding of functional safety concepts and experience working with safety-critical system teams
• Background in robotics platform architecture (manipulation, locomotion, mobile robots, or autonomous systems)
• Strong technical communication skills with experience presenting architecture to stakeholders
• Experience with Yocto/OpenEmbedded or similar embedded Linux build systems
• Track record of establishing technical standards and architectural patterns for Linux platforms across engineering teams
• Experience with inter-processor communication between Linux and RTOS environments

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, CA, SAN FRANCISCO - 193,300.00 - 261,500.00 USD annually