Robotics Lead

Robotics Lead / Location

Portland, OR or SF Bay Area

Autolane is on a mission to revolutionize last‑mile logistics by empowering autonomous vehicle owners to unlock the value of their vehicle. Our flagship product is the industry’s first orchestration layer for autonomous deliveries, coordinating heterogeneous autonomous systems (AVs, humanoid robots, delivery bots) to achieve zero‑wait handoffs and maximum fleet utilization. We integrate directly with retailers, commercial real‑estate operators, and AV fleets, building the robotics infrastructure that enables autonomy at scale.

As Robotics Lead at Autolane, you’ll architect and build the multi‑robot systems that execute autonomous last‑mile logistics. Starting with Unitree G1 humanoid integration for order loading and expanding to PUDU delivery bot coordination, you’ll design the motion planning, manipulation, and multi‑robot orchestration systems that bridge the gap between AI decision‑making and physical execution. You’ll work directly with our CTO to build robotics systems that scale from pilot deployments to coordinated fleets of humanoids and delivery bots operating across retail environments nationwide.

• Humanoid Robot Integration (Unitree G1)
• Motion Planning
  :
  Design and implement manipulation pipelines for order loading, grasp planning, trajectory optimization, and collision avoidance
• Locomotion Control
  :
  Develop robust walking and navigation for retail environments including curbs, ramps, and dynamic obstacles
• Task Choreography
  :
  Build loading sequences coordinating G1 movements with vehicle trunk access, order verification, and secure placement
• Sensor Integration
  :
  Fuse RGB‑D cameras, force / torque sensors, and proprioceptive feedback for adaptive manipulation
• Safety Systems
  :
  Implement human‑aware motion planning and emergency stop behaviors for shared spaces
• Multi‑Robot Coordination
• Fleet Architecture
  :
  Design distributed coordination systems for heterogeneous robot types (G1 humanoids, PUDU bots, future platforms)
• Task Allocation
  :
  Build real‑time task assignment integrating with the AI / ML orchestration layer’s MARL policies
• Spatial Deconfliction
  :
  Implement multi‑robot path planning preventing collisions and deadlocks in shared operating zones
• Handoff Protocols
  :
  Design robot‑to‑vehicle and robot‑to‑robot transfer sequences with verification and fallback behaviors
• State Synchronization
  :
  Maintain consistent world models across distributed robot systems
• ROS2 Platform Development
• System Architecture
  :
  Design modular ROS2 architecture with clean separation between perception, planning, and control
• Navigation Stack
  :
  Customize Nav2 for retail environments (dynamic costmaps, behavior trees, and recovery behaviors)
• MoveIt2 Integration
  :
  Configure manipulation pipelines for G1 arm control with custom kinematics and planning plugins
• micro‑ROS Bridge
  :
  Architect communication between ROS2 nodes and embedded edge sensors
• DDS Optimization
  :
  Tune middleware for low‑latency, high‑reliability messaging in production deployments
• Simulation & Testing Infrastructure
• Digital Twins
  :
  Build high‑fidelity simulation environments in Isaac Sim for G1 and delivery bot development
• Physics Validation
  :
  Ensure sim‑to‑real transfer for manipulation, locomotion, and contact dynamics
• Scenario Testing
  :
  Design automated test suites covering nominal operations and edge cases
• Hardware‑in‑the‑Loop
  :
  Integrate real robot subsystems with simulated environments for incremental validation
• Continuous Integration
  :
  Build CI / CD pipelines for robotics code with simulation‑based regression testing
• Production Robotics Systems
• Reliability Engineering
  :
  Design for 99.9% uptime in outdoor retail environments
• Remote Operations
  :
  Build teleoperation fallbacks and remote monitoring dashboards
• Diagnostics & Logging
  :
  Implement comprehensive observability for field debugging and performance analysis
• OTA Updates
  :
  Architect safe over‑the‑air deployment for robot software across distributed fleets
• Fleet Management
  :
  Build tooling for robot provisioning, configuration, and health monitoring

• Technical Foundation
• 5+ years robotics engineering with production…