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Embedded Software Manager, Mobile Robotics

Amazon.com Inc

  • North Reading, MA
  • 3 days ago

    Highlights

    You will lead a team of embedded software engineers who own real-time safety applications, sensor processing pipelines, and system interfaces on heterogeneous multi-core MCU/CPU/GPU platforms: the firmware that enables robots in Amazon facilities worldwide to detect and respond to obstacles reliably. The AR Firmware organization is the world-leading embedded software team behind many of the robotic systems Amazon Robotics deploys: fleets of over 1M drive units and safety-critical products that let associates work alongside robots safely.

    Numbers & Facts

    LocationNorth Reading, MA
    IndustryRetail
    Company Size10,000 employees or more
    Year Founded1994
    Websitehttp://Amazon.com/militaryroles

    Description

    Amazon Robotics is seeking a Software Development Manager to lead an embedded software team building the safety-rated sensor processing firmware that lets one of the world"s largest autonomous robot fleets operate safely alongside people. You will lead a team of embedded software engineers who own real-time safety applications, sensor processing pipelines, and system interfaces on heterogeneous multi-core MCU/CPU/GPU platforms: the firmware that enables robots in Amazon facilities worldwide to detect and respond to obstacles reliably. This is a hands-on leadership role: you will set technical direction, grow and develop the team, and own delivery of firmware that meets the rigor of IEC 61508 functional safety certification.

    We are looking for a manager who pairs people leadership with strong technical depth in embedded or safety-critical systems. This is a highly technical role, not a purely people-management one: you should be able to dive deep in design and safety-analysis discussions, review architecture and code with authority, make sound architectural trade-offs, and earn the technical trust of a team that writes code where correctness is not optional. You will coach engineers, hold a high bar on design and code quality, and partner effectively across electrical, mechanical, functional safety, navigation, and manufacturing teams.

    Key job responsibilities

    The ideal candidate is passionate about building the right solutions for our customers, developing great engineers, and raising the bar for associate safety at Amazon scale. As the manager of this team, you will:

    • Hire, coach, and develop a high-judgment, bar-raising team of embedded software engineers.
    • Own the technical roadmap, delivery, and operational excellence for your team"s portfolio of safety-rated firmware.
    • Set and uphold engineering standards across the sensor processing pipeline: from driver integration through point cloud generation to real-time collision detection.
    • Partner with electrical, mechanical, functional safety, navigation, and manufacturing teams to close failure modes identified in failure mode analyses.
    • Represent the team in safety certification, design reviews, and third-party witness testing, ensuring artifacts meet the rigor required for IEC 61508.
    • Make transparent trade-offs between long-term architecture and near-term delivery, balancing safety, performance, and schedule.

    A day in the life

    No two days are the same. You might start in 1:1s and a design review, helping an engineer think through a black-channel diagnostic or a latency budget. Before lunch you negotiate scope for the next certification milestone with functional safety and navigation. In the afternoon you head to the test floor alongside your engineers and the electrical and QA teams: is it firmware, hardware, or a faulty sensor? In between, you unblock the team, give feedback on a design, and think ahead about hiring and architecture. Our managers own it all, from their engineers" growth to what ships to production robots.

    About the team

    The AR Firmware organization is the world-leading embedded software team behind many of the robotic systems Amazon Robotics deploys: fleets of over 1M drive units and safety-critical products that let associates work alongside robots safely. Within it, the Safety Perception team owns the safety-critical firmware in Proteus, Amazon"s first robot that can safely share a work area with people. We specialize in the bandwidth and complexity of depth cameras, LiDARs, iTOFs, and dTOFs, and in proving under certification that those sensors meet requirements across all operating conditions. We keep safety software lean, prioritize test infrastructure early, and sweat the details so others do not have to.

    About Company

    At Amazon, we don’t wait for the next big idea to present itself. We envision the shape of impossible things and then we boldly make them reality. So far, this mindset has helped us achieve some incredible things. Let’s build new systems, challenge the status quo, and design the world we want to live in. We believe the work you do here will be the best work of your life.

    Wherever you are in your career exploration, Amazon likely has an opportunity for you. Our research scientists and engineers shape the future of natural language understanding with Alexa. Fulfillment center associates around the globe send customer orders from our warehouses to doorsteps. Product managers set feature requirements, strategy, and marketing messages for brand new customer experiences. And as we grow, we’ll add jobs that haven’t been invented yet.

    It’s Always Day 1
    At Amazon, it’s always “Day 1.” Now, what does this mean and why does it matter? It means that our approach remains the same as it was on Amazon’s very first day – to make smart, fast decisions, stay nimble, invent, and stay focused on delighting our customers. In our 2016 shareholder letter, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos shared his thoughts on how to keep up a Day 1 company mindset. “Staying in Day 1 requires you to experiment patiently, accept failures, plant seeds, protect saplings, and double down when you see customer delight,” he wrote. “A customer-obsessed culture best creates the conditions where all of that can happen.” You can read the full letter here

    Our Leadership Principles
    Our Leadership Principles help us keep a Day 1 mentality. They aren’t just a pretty inspirational wall hanging. Amazonians use them, every day, whether they’re discussing ideas for new projects, deciding on the best solution for a customer’s problem, or interviewing candidates. To read through our Leadership Principles from Customer Obsession to Bias for Action, visit https://www.amazon.jobs/principles

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