Systems Engineer

This position is based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Travel to our Salem headquarters, occasionally 1 week per month, will be required., As a Senior Systems Engineer for Software at Agility Robotics, you'll drive system-level architecture and integration for our humanoid robot platform. Working within a high-impact Systems Engineering team, you'll take ownership of requirements, interfaces, and cross-functional integration-bringing clarity and structure to complex systems while maintaining speed of execution.

This role is ideal for a hands-on technical contributor who thrives in ambiguity, demonstrates systems thinking, and has a passion for building real systems fast. You'll apply structured engineering methods while maintaining the agility and pragmatism needed to ship products.

What You'll Do

1. System Architecture & Integration: Define and document system and subsystem architectures spanning mechanical, electrical, firmware, and software domains. Drive trade studies with focus on simplicity, performance, cost, and execution speed.
2. Requirements Engineering: Own software subsystem-level requirements through their full lifecycle-writing, decomposing, validating, and tracking execution. Maintain rigorous traceability while enabling development velocity.
3. Compliance & Functional Safety: Ensure system designs meet industry standards and regulatory requirements. Facilitate functional safety analysis including hazard analysis, risk assessment, and safety case development. Drive compliance activities for certification, software development, and software deployment.
4. Interface Management: Develop and maintain Interface Control Documents (ICDs). Anticipate and resolve integration issues early through proactive systems thinking.
5. Operational Excellence: Identify and eliminate operational inefficiencies through systematic analysis of field performance data, customer workflows, and deployment scenarios. Implement design improvements that directly enhance system reliability, maintainability, and performance.
6. Technical Execution: Participate in design reviews, integration efforts, and root cause analysis. Identify risks, lead trade studies, and influence decisions from a systems perspective.
7. Field-Focused Problem Solving: Proactively analyze customer deployment scenarios, field feedback, and operational data to identify and solve system-level issues before they impact production or customers.

• 5+ years of Systems Engineering experience in robotics, aerospace, automotive, or similar multidisciplinary hardware/software systems
• Proven track record leading system-level integration and architecture efforts
• Experience in fast-paced environments requiring self-direction and bias for action
• Experience integrating new software capabilities into autonomous systems

Technical Skills

• Strong proficiency with V-model systems engineering approaches, adapted for rapid development
• Expert-level requirements authoring, traceability management, and interface definition
• Proven ability to logically decompose functional requirements for software
• Compliance and standards expertise: Knowledge of relevant industry standards (ISO 13849, IEC 61508, ANSI/RIA R15.06, or similar) and regulatory frameworks for robotics systems in manufacturing/warehousing environments
• Functional safety experience: Demonstrated ability to conduct hazard analysis, risk assessment, and safety case development. Experience with safety lifecycle processes and safety-critical system design
• Experience collaborating with Test Engineering on system-level validation strategies
• Proficiency with systems engineering tools (requirements management, modeling, etc.)
• Operational efficiency analysis: Proven track record of identifying inefficiencies in complex systems and implementing measurable improvements to performance, reliability, and maintainability

Systems Thinking Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to think systematically: Must provide specific examples of how you've identified cross-functional dependencies, anticipated downstream impacts, or solved problems by understanding system-level interactions
• Proactive problem-solving track record: Evidence of looking ahead to solve problems before they occur-examples might include analyzing field data to prevent failures, designing for customer deployment scenarios, or identifying integration risks early in development
• Customer-focused systems perspective: Experience translating field feedback, customer requirements, or operational constraints into actionable system design changes

This a hybrid position based out of one of our Fremont, CA office.

The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to: job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Agility Robotics is a multi-state employer and this salary range may not reflect positions who work in other locations. These ranges may be modified in the future.

In addition to base pay, our competitive total rewards package consists of the following for full-time employees:

• 401(k) Plan: Includes a 6% company match.
• Equity: Company stock options.
• Insurance Coverage: 100% company-paid medical, dental, vision, and short/long-term disability insurance for employees.
• Benefit Start Date: Eligible for benefits on your first day of employment.
• Well-Being Support: Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
• Time Off:

• Exempt Employees: Flexible, unlimited PTO and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown.
• Non-Exempt Employees: 10 vacation days, paid sick leave, and 12 company holidays, including a winter shutdown, annually.

• On-Site Perks: Catered lunches four times a week and a variety of healthy snacks and refreshments at our Salem and Pittsburgh locations.
• Parental Leave: Generous paid parental leave programs.
• Work Environment: A culture that supports flexible work arrangements.
• Growth Opportunities: Professional development and tuition reimbursement programs.

Agility Robotics is at the forefront of developing humanoid robots designed to operate in real-world environments. Our mission is to build robots that seamlessly integrate into human workflows, solving complex challenges in logistics, manufacturing, and beyond. As we scale, we are looking for a Senior Systems Engineer to strengthen our Systems Engineering team-ensuring structured, scalable development processes while maintaining the agility and execution speed required in a fast-paced startup environment.