--- title: 'Robot SWE at Yondu AI' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/robot-swe-yondu-ai-gardena-1kny3bb90xnh' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-10-17' --- # Robot SWE at Yondu AI - **Company:** Yondu AI - **Location:** Gardena, CA - **Compensation:** $100k–$200k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-10-07 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-17 - **Apply:** https://jobs.gem.com/yondu-ai/am9icG9zdDqkh_RU0q8svB6cjdFaKfGP ## Job description As one of our early junior engineers, you'll write software that runs on real robots in customer warehouses. You'll work across the stack - navigation, perception, teleoperation, and the integrations that connect our robots to warehouse management systems - and you'll be on the floor helping bring deployments live at client sites. You'll be paired with senior roboticists who will mentor you, review your code, and hand you real ownership fast. This is a hands-on role for someone who is energized by physical hardware and wants to grow quickly. ## What you'll do - Develop and improve features across our ROS2 stack in C++ and Python - navigation, mapping and localization, perception, and motion behaviors and ship them to robots running on NVIDIA Jetson and Custom Platforms. - Tune and debug autonomous navigation and obstacle avoidance so Robots move safely and efficiently through dynamic, human-occupied warehouse aisles. - Build and improve teleoperation and human-in-the-loop tooling that lets operators monitor, assist, and recover robots remotely. - Contribute to integrations between our robots and warehouse management systems so tasks flow correctly between the WMS and the fleet. - Containerize and deploy software with Docker across our fleet, and help commission and troubleshoot robots on-site at warehouse deployments. - Own features end-to-end; from prototype, through testing, to reliable behavior on real hardware and feed what you learn in the field back into the product. ## What we're looking for (must-haves) - 0–2 years of experience (internships, research, and robotics competition teams count) building software, ideally in robotics, autonomous systems, or another physical/hardware domain. - BS in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical/Mechanical Engineering, or a related field or equivalent hands-on project experience. - Working proficiency in C++ and Python. - Comfort in a Linux/Ubuntu command-line environment and with Git in a team setting. - Genuine interest in how software meets hardware (sensors, motors, embedded compute like Jetson/Raspberry Pi), demonstrated through projects, internships, or competition teams in areas like computer vision, autonomous navigation, or motion planning. - Hands-on experience with ROS2 (or a similar pub/sub middleware) a strong candidate from a ROS1 or custom-middleware background can ramp quickly. - Exposure to real robot hardware deployment, or to WMS/logistics/warehouse systems. Nice to haves - Experience with Docker or other containerization. - Robotic Manipulation - Coursework or projects in SLAM, perception/computer vision, motion planning, or sensor fusion. - A Master's degree in a robotics-related field is a plus, but is not required or expected. ## Why you'll want to work here - Real robots, real production: your code runs on robots doing real work in real warehouses, not just in simulation. - Ownership: you'll own meaningful features early and see them through to the field. - Mentorship: you'll learn directly from senior roboticists who care about growing you. - Hardware access: hands-on time with AMRs, Humanoid Robots, manipulators, high powered compute, and a full sensor suite. Logistics - On-site in the LA area, with regular time at customer warehouse sites for deployments. ## About Yondu AI ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Yondu provides drop-in, general-purpose humanoid robots for 3PL warehouses to automate high-turnover labor with a fast, ROI-positive, brownfield deployment. - **Entity Type**: Private (seed stage, Y Combinator W24) - **Headquarters**: Gardena, California, USA - **Founded**: 2023 (Dec 2023 founded at MIT, operational by 2024) - **Founders**: Michael Chen (CEO) and Tahmid Jamal (CTO) ## Core Business - Primary industry: Warehouse automation, logistics robotics, embodied AI. - Target customers: Mid-sized 3PL (third-party logistics) warehouses (B2B, SMB to enterprise). - Mission: Revolutionizing physical labor by building the robot workforce of the future, empowering businesses to lower operating costs, eliminate turnover, and increase efficiency. ## Products & Services - **Humanoid Robots + Teleoperation System (ULTRON)**: A low-latency remote teleoperation system that puts robots to work immediately in customer operations, collecting data for autonomy. - **Warehouse Management Software (WMS) Integration**: Routes orders from the warehouse WMS to Yondu’s platform, instructing robots where to go and what to pick. - **Autonomy Stack (YGM – Yondu General Manipulation)**: A manipulation policy that gradually takes over picking and placing tasks, learning from teleoperation data to drive toward full autonomy. - **Brownfield Bin-Picking Solution**: The first fully automated brownfield bin-picking system that works within existing warehouse layouts without costly infrastructure changes. ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed. - **Key Metric**: Total funding raised – seed round closed in May 2024 after YC W24 cohort; amount undisclosed. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Y Combinator; design partnership and pilot contract with Shipbots (a major West Coast 3PL). - **Growth Signals**: Founded Dec 2023 at MIT; participated in PROD 3.0 and YC W24 cohorts; opened HQ in Gardena, CA (June 2025); demonstrated comprehensive teleoperated bin-picking system (Sep 2025); landed first pilot contract; headcount growing with multiple founding engineers and robot operators. ## Competitive Advantages - **Brownfield-first approach**: No need for new infrastructure or retrofits – robots adapt to existing warehouse layouts and processes. - **Affordable price point**: Mid-sized warehouses can afford automation; claims to cut labor costs by up to 75%. - **Data flywheel**: Teleoperation (ULTRON) enables immediate value while collecting real-world data to train autonomy (YGM), creating a self-improving system. - **Full-stack robotics**: In-house teleoperation, WMS integration, and manipulation stack – a platform-application model scalable to other tasks (decanting, replenishment, packing). ## Strategic Focus - Current priorities include scaling the Shipbots partnership, proving ROI in live warehouse operations, expanding the robot’s task repertoire beyond bin-picking, and building a foundation model for general-purpose manipulation. - Long-term vision: Become the platform for any brownfield robotics automation, enabling other companies to automate any task with any robot. ## Why Work Here - **Team & Culture**: Led by two MIT co-founders; strong research talent (MIT CSAIL Postdoc, Georgia Tech PhD, industry veterans in RL/teleoperation). Culture emphasizes continuous learning, keeping up with SOTA research, and tackling one of the hardest problems in robot learning. - **Compensation & Benefits**: 401(k) matching (100% of first 3%, 50% of next 2%); comprehensive medical/dental (100% premiums covered for employee and dependents); unlimited PTO plus dedicated sick leave. - **Work Environment**: Based in Los Angeles (Gardena) – hands-on, in-person collaboration with local customers; roles include robotics software, mechatronics, and business development. - **Growth Opportunity**: Early-stage startup with a chance to shape the product and technology from the ground up, working on real-world embodied AI deployments. ## Sources 1. [yondu.ai](https://www.yondu.ai/) 2. [yondu.ai/about](https://www.yondu.ai/about) 3. [yondu.ai/careers](https://www.yondu.ai/careers) 4. [ycombinator.com/companies/yondu](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/yondu) 5. [ycombinator.com/companies/yondu/jobs](https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/yondu/jobs) ## Other roles at Yondu AI - [Robotics Hardware Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-hardware-engineer-yondu-ai-gardena-pyqe3jdnrajk) — Gardena, CA - [Physical AI Infrastructure Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/physical-ai-infrastructure-engineer-yondu-ai-gardena-146q4rtdhntj) — Gardena, CA - [Summer Robotics Hardware Intern (Copy)](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-robotics-hardware-intern-copy-yondu-ai-gardena-rtmmqv94a38g) — Gardena, CA - [Summer Robotics Hardware Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/summer-robotics-hardware-intern-yondu-ai-gardena-xym7b8rebrb4) — Gardena, CA - [Founding Business Development Representative, Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/founding-business-development-representative-robotics-yondu-ai-gardena-nn7kxtde6ef8) — Gardena, CA - [Senior Robotics Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-robotics-engineer-yondu-ai-gardena-r9phjzqqd7sg) — Gardena, CA