Robotics Software Engineer Internship - Autonomy at Gravis Robotics (Zurich, Switzerland)

Gravis Robotics· Zurich, Switzerland·2d ago

Role details

Work type

Onsite

Employment

Internship

Job description

Focus Areas

Beneficial Experience (Role Based)

Master’s level study (i.e. in robotics, computer science, mechanical or electrical engineering, design)
Experience conducting research (e.g., through experience in an academic lab, or through previous internships and employment)
Track record of setting up and deploying software on autonomous systems
Experience with C++ and Python
Proficiency with Linux and GIT
Interest and/or experience in heavy construction
Experience with Robot Operating System (ROS) is a plus

Culture: Rated 4.6/5.0 on employer reviews (5 reviews) with strong scores in Work-Life Balance (4.3), Culture (4.5), and Career Growth (4.5). Described as a team of “great engineers, creative minds, and awesome people.”
Work Policy: Hybrid and on-site roles depending on location: Zurich (mostly on-site/hybrid), Austin (on-site), Oxford (hybrid). Internships are on-site in Zurich.
Engineering culture: Heavy emphasis on robotics, simulation, ML, and real‑world systems. Tech stack includes ROS, PyTorch, TensorFlow, Unreal Engine, SolidWorks, C++, Python, and more. Team includes alumni from ETH Zurich, NASA JPL, ANYbotics, and other top robotics groups.
Perks: Work on physical AI that has a tangible impact on global infrastructure; see your code move dirt on real construction sites; small, fast‑moving team with direct access to founders.

One-liner: Gravis Robotics retrofits earthmoving machines with plug-and-play autonomy to enable safer, more productive, and predictable construction sites.
Entity Type: Private – Series A-II
Headquarters: Zurich, Switzerland (also offices in Austin, Texas, USA and Oxford, UK)
Founded: 2022
Founders: Ryan Luke Johns, Hanspeter Fässler, Simon Kerscher, Burak Çizmeci, Marco Hutter

Primary industry: Automation Machinery Manufacturing / Construction Robotics
Target customers: B2B – heavy civil construction firms, earthwork contractors, and equipment rental companies
Mission: To turn any earthmoving machine into a robot, augmenting human crews with superhuman productivity, safety, and predictability.

[Gravis RACK]: A hardware-and-software retrofit kit (sensors, control unit, intuitive touchscreen) that transforms standard excavators into autonomous or teleoperated machines. Includes features like terrain-aware excavation (30% throughput improvement), autonomous maneuvers, self-stabilization, and augmented vision. (Type: Hardware + SaaS)
[Teleoperation Tools]: Advanced remote control capabilities enabling operators to manage machines from outside the cab, reducing exposure to hazards.
[Deployment & Integration]: Full support for integrating the Gravis RACK onto existing fleet machines, with site‑setup and task management via a simple interface.

Valuation / Funding: Total funding of $227.58M as of August 2026, including a recent $200M Series A led by SoftBank Investment Advisers (announced August 20, 2026). Prior rounds included a seed round led by IQ Capital and Zacua Ventures. Note: Some earlier profiles list $23M total funding – this appears to be outdated data before the Series A.
Key Metric: Annual Revenue not publicly disclosed; headcount of 57 employees (51-200 range) with +43.5% YoY growth.
Notable Investors / Partners: SoftBank Group, Armada Investment Group, Sunna Ventures, Imad Ventures, IQ Capital, Zacua Ventures. Deployment partnerships include DEVELON Europe, AG für Baumaschinen Schmerikon, and KIBAG.
Growth Signals: Handed over first commercial autonomous excavator to KIBAG in April 2026; expanding from Zurich hub into Austin and Oxford; active jobsite deployments; Inc. Magazine feature on Series A.

Deep tech moat: Core technology spun out from ETH Zurich’s Robotic Systems Lab, with over a decade of research in legged and autonomous systems applied to heavy machinery.
Plug‑and‑play retrofit: Works on existing machine brands (e.g., Develon) without requiring OEM redesign, enabling rapid fleet conversion.
Field‑proven reliability: Operates in extreme, unstructured outdoor environments (dirt, mud, slopes) where other autonomous systems struggle.
Full‑stack approach: Integrates hardware (RACK), perception, planning, teleoperation, and fleet management into a single cohesive product.

Scale deployment: Use the $200M Series A to accelerate production of the Gravis RACK, expand into new geographic markets (US, UK), and grow the engineering and field operations teams.
Product roadmap: Improve autonomy level (e.g., full excavation without human input), expand to other earthmoving machine types (dozers, loaders), and deepen machine learning for terrain modeling.
Talent acquisition: Aggressively hiring across autonomy, SLAM, systems engineering, field robotics, and infrastructure roles (8 open positions as of September 2026).

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