Robotics Firmware Engineer

About Ultra

Ultra builds industrial AI robots that are working in the real world today. Our robots automate mission-critical warehouse labor end-to-end, starting with e-commerce order packaging. We deploy fast, learn from real production data, and iterate aggressively. We already have a quickly growing number of revenue-generating robots operating in U.S. warehouses, and are now scaling towards thousands of deployments over the next few years. Our mission is simple: build the world's most useful and deployable robot.

WARNING: Robotics is not for the faint of heart. There are no silver bullets here. It is tiresome, unglamorous, and at times brutal work. The only way out is through, and the only way through is treacherous and unknown. But on the other side awaits insatiable demand and unimaginable opportunity. Join us if you dare.

Overview

We’re seeking a Robotics Firmware Engineer to join our NYC-based team (we are an in-person company) to own the hard problems where software meets metal. Our robots run every day in the lab and at customer sites; when joints freeze, buses flake, or safety state is wrong, you are the person who finds the real cause and ships the fix. We are an early stage company moving very fast in a rapidly growing space, and welcome people from any background as long as you’re excited to join our mission, drive immediate impact, and create a future where automation is accessible to all.

Who You Are

• 2+ years shipping firmware on real robots or similarly unforgiving embedded systems
• You’re dangerous with LLMs because you know when they're wrong
• Comfortable from scope traces and schematics up through kernel/driver and into application control loops
• You’ve identified, diagnosed, and fixed intermittent failures end-to-end (timing, noise, thermal, state machines)
• You produce production-quality code and can pinch-hit outside pure firmware when the robot needs it
• You can look at a ticket backlog and identify the most important thing to work on next

What You’ll Do

• Debug and permanently fix HW/SW interface failures that kill uptime (actuators, buses, sensors, recovery paths)
• Tweak all the Linux parameters nobody knows about to get reliable, predictable OS performance
• Help design and implement a safety system with real guarantees for Operator's warehouse work
• Write control interfaces for any new devices we want to onboard (new EEs, cameras, barcode scanners, etc)
• Identify key metrics to monitor for predictive failure signals and overall hardware health

Bonus Points

• MechE/EE experience for designing and manufacturing robotics components including custom PCBs, engineered parts, and more.

Expected Compensation

$150,000 - $225,000/annual salary + equity + benefits

This compensation range may be inclusive of several career levels at Ultra and will be narrowed during the interview process based on the candidate’s experience and qualifications. Adjustments outside of this range may be considered for candidates whose qualifications significantly differ from those outlined in the job description.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment and encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply.