---
title: 'Forward Deployed Software Engineer at Cosmic Robotics'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-software-engineer-cosmic-robotics-cosmic-hq-12edtgdyaa3x'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-06'
---

# Forward Deployed Software Engineer at Cosmic Robotics

- **Company:** Cosmic Robotics
- **Location:** Cosmic Hq
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-08-19
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-06
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/cosmic-robotics/c7112880-fa0c-4386-8c01-6eac0b31bc65

## Job description

Forward Deployed Software Engineer

Location: San Francisco, CA (full time, in-person)

Company Overview

Our mission is to build a city on Mars and accelerate the construction of critical infrastructure on Earth. Starting with Cosmic-1 – a system that installs solar panels 10x faster than today’s methods, helping us transition to a clean energy future and laying the groundwork for the future of autonomous construction.

## The Role

As a Forward Deployed Software Engineer, you will be the bridge between our cutting-edge robotics and our customers, owning the end-to-end deployment and long-term success of robots in the field. You will work hand-in-hand with our customers to develop, deploy, and ensure the optimal performance of the best construction robots in the world. This role is crucial for extending our platform with new features based on direct customer feedback and driving its adoption. As a core member of the team, you will help define the era of autonomous construction.

This is a rare opportunity to:

- Work on hard, meaningful problems that impact the future of infrastructure and energy.
- Collaborate with a world-class team from NASA, SpaceX, Google, Built Robotics, and others.
- Rapidly grow, learn, and lead within a quickly scaling company.

## Responsibilities

- Own the full robot deployment lifecycle at customer sites, from initial setup and commissioning to field validation and long-term maintenance.
- Work directly with customers as a technical partner, translating their operational needs into requirements for new robot and platform features.
- Develop, integrate, and deploy new features to meet specific customer requirements.
- Triage and debug issues in the field and ensure high robot uptime.
- Set milestones, plan roadmaps, and deliver on ambitious timelines for customer deployments and feature delivery.

## Requirements

- 2+ years of professional engineering experience.
- Willingness to regularly travel to customer jobsites
- Excellent first-principles understanding of system-level engineering, including robotics, software, and hardware interaction.
- Strong experience in robotics, system integration, and software development (e.g., Python, C++).
- Demonstrated experience owning the full product lifecycle from customer requirements collection to field deployment.
- Familiarity with deployment and diagnostic tools for robotic systems.
- Excellent communication and project management skills.
- Thrive in fast-paced environments and push boundaries to meet deadlines.

Bonus

- 5+ years of professional engineering experience in a technical field role.
- Experience with forward deployment, field engineering, or technical consulting in a robotics field.
- Management and recruiting experience.

## About Cosmic Robotics

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Cosmic Robotics builds autonomous construction equipment for critical infrastructure, starting with a robot that installs solar panels on utility-scale farms.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Pre-Seed stage, $4M total funding)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, United States
- **Founded**: ~2024
- **Founders**: James Emerick (Co-founder & CEO) and Lewis C Jones (Co-founder, CTO)

## Core Business
- Primary industry: Robotics Engineering, Autonomous Construction Equipment, Solar Energy Infrastructure
- Target customers: Solar farm developers, data center operators, general contractors building grid-scale renewable energy, storage, and other critical infrastructure.
- Mission: "Build tools to unlock essential progress on critical infrastructure" by creating rugged, reliable autonomous systems that amplify human capability on the job site. [cosmicrobotics.com](https://www.cosmicrobotics.com/careers)

## Products & Services
- **[Cosmic-1A]**: An autonomous eight-wheeled vehicle equipped with a robotic arm, suction cups, high-accuracy GPS, and cameras. It tows a trailer of solar panels, lifts and places each panel (weighing up to 90 lbs) onto racking with millimeter precision at a rate of one panel every 30–40 seconds—matching the speed of the fastest human installers but sustaining that pace longer without fatigue. Workers still oversee and fasten panels. [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/cosmic-robotics-is-building-robots-to-speed-solar-power-deployments-for-data-centers/)

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not disclosed
- **Key Metric**: **Total Funding** – $4.0M across two pre-seed rounds (2024-2025)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Lead investor Giant Ventures; Participating investors HCVC, MaC Ventures; Angel investors include Azeem Azhar, Aarthi Ramamurthy, and Nate Williams. [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/cosmic-robotics-is-building-robots-to-speed-solar-power-deployments-for-data-centers/)
- **Growth Signals**: 
  - Headcount grew 100% YoY to 9 employees (as of mid-2025). [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosmic-robotics)
  - Robot performance equals fastest human installers with higher endurance; plans to manufacture several production units by end of 2025.
  - Awarded NASA funding to develop "Particle AI" for lunar construction, indicating cross-planetary ambitions. [cosmicrobotics.com](https://www.cosmicrobotics.com/)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Real‑world focus**: The robot is engineered for harsh outdoor conditions (rain, snow, mud, 120°F heat) and iterated directly with customers on actual job sites rather than in simulation. [cosmicrobotics.com](https://www.cosmicrobotics.com/careers)
- **Team pedigree**: Founders and early engineers come from SpaceX, NASA, Google, Built Robotics, Nuro, and other industry leaders, bringing aerospace rigor and startup speed. [cosmicrobotics.com](https://www.cosmicrobotics.com/careers)
- **Timely market need**: A severe labor shortage in solar installation (expected 48% growth in installer demand by 2033) combined with surging data center electricity demand makes automation a critical enabler. [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/cosmic-robotics-is-building-robots-to-speed-solar-power-deployments-for-data-centers/)

## Strategic Focus
- Current priorities: Scaling from prototype to production – manufacturing multiple Cosmic-1A units and deploying them in live solar construction environments.
- Long‑term direction: Expand to other critical infrastructure (grid‑scale storage, data centers, transportation) and eventually support off‑world construction (NASA collaboration). [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/cosmic-robotics-is-building-robots-to-speed-solar-power-deployments-for-data-centers/)

## Why Work Here
- Culture emphasizes speed with integrity: "Move with urgency, but build with care." The team values tangible impact over feature bloat, working directly on physical systems that solve real problems. [cosmicrobotics.com](https://www.cosmicrobotics.com/careers)
- Work is hands‑on: Design, test, and deploy robots in the field (rain, snow, deserts); not a simulation‑only environment.
- Office/hybrid policy: Likely on‑site in San Francisco (headquarters with multiple offices in the city), with active hiring for in‑person robotics roles.
- Currently posting one opening for **Robotics Software Engineer** (as of July 2025). [jobs.ashbyhq.com](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/cosmic-robotics)
- Notable perks for engineers: Chance to work on end‑to‑end autonomy, mechanical design, and productionization with a small, fast‑moving team; direct exposure to co‑founders and customers.

## Sources
1. [cosmicrobotics.com – Official Website](https://www.cosmicrobotics.com/)
2. [cosmicrobotics.com – Careers Page](https://www.cosmicrobotics.com/careers)
3. [linkedin.com – Company Profile](https://www.linkedin.com/company/cosmic-robotics)
4. [techcrunch.com – “Cosmic Robotics’ robots could speed up solar panel deployments”](https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/16/cosmic-robotics-is-building-robots-to-speed-solar-power-deployments-for-data-centers/)
5. [jobs.ashbyhq.com – Cosmic Robotics Job Board](https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/cosmic-robotics)

## Other roles at Cosmic Robotics

- [General Applicant](https://feeny.ai/job/general-applicant-cosmic-robotics-cosmic-hq-xf8vftbj34gj) — Cosmic Hq
- [Senior Mechanical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-mechanical-engineer-cosmic-robotics-cosmic-hq-2w629jx4fpjh) — Cosmic Hq
- [Senior Electrical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-electrical-engineer-cosmic-robotics-cosmic-hq-8f3kyq85whxy) — Cosmic Hq
- [Forward Deployed Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-software-engineer-harmattan-ai-united-arab-emirates-h1ph5ed6wera) — United Arab Emirates
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- [Forward Deployed Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-software-engineer-conductorai-washington-4a91k14bw872) — Washington, DC