--- title: 'Senior Perception Software Engineer at Pickle Robot Company' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-perception-software-engineer-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-4m1dx7mh4td1' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-07' --- # Senior Perception Software Engineer at Pickle Robot Company - **Company:** Pickle Robot Company - **Location:** Charlestown, MA - **Compensation:** $170k–$190k - **Employment:** full-time - **Work type:** onsite - **Posted:** 2026-08-31 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-07 - **Apply:** https://jobs.lever.co/picklerobot/c2f45fac-9720-4045-b242-a556544a1734 ## Job description ## About Us At Pickle Robot, we're on a mission to automate global supply chains with Physical AI. Our robots work alongside warehouse teams to unload trucks and containers — one of the toughest, most understaffed jobs in logistics — making the work safer, faster, and more efficient for the people doing it.  Loading trucks comes next, followed by the Dill Autonomy Engine: generalized autonomy that will eventually orchestrate robots across entire logistics processes. We're looking for a dynamic, driven Senior Perception Software Engineer to help revolutionize the future of warehouse automation. This role will focus heavily on working with 3D LiDAR and other multi-sensor arrays to tackle complex challenges in state estimation, scene perception, mapping, and localization. You will play a crucial part in writing robust, production-grade software that translates raw sensor data into actionable intelligence for our robots operating in dynamic, real-world unloading docks. ## What You'll Do - Drive the accuracy and precision of our localization and state estimation pipelines. Ensure reliable pose estimation of the robot's mobile base and scene components. - Develop advanced obstacle mapping for collision avoidance that thrives in messy environments. - Implement and optimize point cloud processing algorithms tailored for real-time edge compute. - Architect a robust software stack that efficiently parses and interfaces with the outputs of our machine learning models, integrating novel perception pipelines seamlessly into the core production codebase. - Improve and automate multi-sensor calibration routines. You will manage tolerance stacks and ensure high-fidelity spatial alignment across our sensor suites, guaranteeing a single source of truth for the robot. ## What You'll Bring - 5+ years of experience in robotics software engineering (or an MS with 3+ years of highly relevant industry experience). - Exceptional software engineering fundamentals, highly proficient in Python and C++ for production systems. - Strong mathematical foundation in linear algebra, geometry, and probabilistic robotics. - Hands-on experience building perception stacks using industry-standard tools and frameworks, including ROS/ROS2, OpenCV, Open3D, Eigen, and Git. - Hands-on experience with sensor stacks including 3D LiDARs, IMUs, and cameras. - You are a "full-stack" robotics engineer who cares about accuracy, precision, and edge cases in the physical world and can articulate architectural trade-offs to drive the best system-level decisions. - Nice to have: Experience with optimization libraries (Ceres Solver, GTSAM), parallel computing (CUDA), Docker, and PCL. - Location Requirement: This role is on-site at our HQ, working directly with the physical sensor rigs and robots. ## About Pickle Robot Company ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Pickle Robot builds physical AI–powered robots that automate the unloading of trucks, trailers, and shipping containers in warehouse and supply chain operations. - **Entity Type**: Private (VC-backed, Series B — 6 funding rounds, ~$102.5M total raised) - **Headquarters**: Charlestown, Boston, Massachusetts, United States - **Founded**: 2018 - **Founders**: Founded by a team of MIT alumni, including AJ Lonska (CEO) and Ariana "Ari" Eisenstein (CTO) — both MIT engineering graduates. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/careers) [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) ## Core Business - **Primary Industry**: Supply chain automation / warehouse robotics / Physical AI - **Target Customers**: B2B, Enterprise — warehouse operators, inbound logistics teams, distribution centers, and import container facilities - **Mission**: To automate global supply chains and "make the future of work better for warehouse workers" — putting machines to work on heavy lifting while people focus on problem-solving. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/company) ## Products & Services - **Pickle Robot (Truck Unloading System)**: An industrial robotics system that autonomously unloads non-palletized goods from trailers and containers in as little as 90 minutes. Integrates with existing warehouse operations and is designed to be deployed in days rather than months. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) - **Dill Autonomy Engine (DAE)**: The proprietary "brain" of every Pickle robot — combines classical optimal control with generative AI, machine vision, and continuous fleet learning. Each robot's picks generate learnings that make every other robot in the fleet smarter over time. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) - **Generative AI + Machine Vision**: Fine-tunes pre-trained foundation models for logistics-specific tasks, paired with multi-camera, real-time vision systems that evaluate countless pick and path options in milliseconds. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) - **Operational Dashboards**: Captures and surfaces real-time performance data — picks per hour, unload times, package mix — for warehouse and inbound supervisors, configurable for single robots, site fleets, or multi-site fleets. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) ## Market Standing - **Valuation**: Not publicly disclosed - **Key Metric (Private)**: Total funding — USD $102,450,000 across 6 rounds; Annual revenue estimated at ~$3M. [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) - **Notable Funding Rounds**: $50M Series B (Nov 2024, 7 investors), $15M Series B tranche (May 2024), $3.7M Seed led by Hyperplane (2019), $2M Seed (2020), and a Corporate Round led by Ranpak (2021). [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Hyperplane (lead seed investor), Ranpak (corporate investor), Celonis (process intelligence partner). [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) - **Growth Signals**: Headcount grew 46.2% YoY (+42 people to 113 employees); LinkedIn followers grew 122.2% yearly to ~20.5K; 16 active job postings at time of research; robots generating "millions of real-world picks." [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) ## Competitive Advantages - **Physical AI approach**: Combines large foundation models, generative AI, and transformer architectures with industrial robotics — a differentiated technical approach versus traditional automation players. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/company) - **Fleet-wide learning flywheel**: Every robot's real-world picks train the Dill Autonomy Engine, making each unit faster and smarter and compounding system value across the fleet. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) - **Narrow, hard-problem focus**: Obsessively focused on the dock-door truck unloading problem — a chaotic, high-variability task that's painful for humans and historically difficult to automate. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/company) - **MIT-rooted talent pipeline**: Leadership and engineering deeply connected to MIT; strong talent pull from top robotics firms (Berkshire Grey, Amazon Fulfillment Technologies & Robotics, Formlabs, Verve Motion, 6 River Systems). [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) - **Working in the real world**: Proven deployments operating in live warehouse environments at "human-scale or better" performance, rather than just lab demos. [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) ## Strategic Focus - **Commercializing Physical AI at scale**: Scaling truck unloading automation as the beachhead, with an explicit roadmap to "generalized autonomy" that can orchestrate robots across entire logistics processes. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/company) - **Deepening the Dill Autonomy Engine**: Investing in generative AI, fine-tuned logistics-specific models, and continuous learning to improve speed and reliability with every deployment. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) - **Operational integration**: Partnering with process-intelligence platforms like Celonis to tie robot performance directly to logistics KPIs and broader network outcomes. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) - **Expanding fleet management**: Building dashboards and configurable monitoring across single robots, site-level fleets, and multi-site networks to sell enterprise-scale automation programs. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) ## Why Work Here - **High-growth, VC-backed environment**: Get in on the "ground floor of a fast growing, VC backed, warehouse automation company" with meaningful equity included in compensation packages. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/careers) [jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/picklerobot) - **Hard technical problems**: Engineers work on computer vision, mechanical engineering, reinforcement learning, generative AI, and real-time robotics systems — with the freedom to make decisions without "this is how it's always been done" constraints. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/careers) - **Highly technical, collaborative culture**: Team of ~113 with a heavily technical workforce (75 people in technical/engineering roles); ex-MIT culture described as "seriously motivated, collaborative, and fun." [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/careers) - **Mission-driven work**: The company's stated goal is a working world where "machines do the heavy lifting and people do the problem solving" — directly improving the daily lives of warehouse workers. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/) - **Location and perks**: HQ in a "beautiful building in the heart of Charlestown, MA," with offices in Boston and Cambridge, plus an office in the UK; benefits include healthcare, 401k, snacks, cold brew, and competitive pay with equity. [picklerobot.com](https://www.picklerobot.com/careers) [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) - **Active and diverse hiring**: 16 open roles spanning Backend Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Perception, Electrical Engineering, Motion Planning Software, Product Management, and Robotic Operations Support. [jobs.lever.co](https://jobs.lever.co/picklerobot) [linkedin.com](https://ae.linkedin.com/company/pickle-robot-company) ## Sources 1. [picklerobot.com — About Us / Company](https://www.picklerobot.com/company) 2. [picklerobot.com — Homepage / Product](https://www.picklerobot.com/) 3. [picklerobot.com — Careers](https://www.picklerobot.com/careers) 4. [jobs.lever.co — Pickle Robot Openings](https://jobs.lever.co/picklerobot) 5. [linkedin.com — P _…truncated._ ## Other roles at Pickle Robot Company - [Software Engineer V – Applied ML Research](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-v-applied-ml-research-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-qjthftr36pnm) — Charlestown, MA - [Principal Motion Planning Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/principal-motion-planning-engineer-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-0dftryrgrnnf) — Charlestown, MA - [Robotics Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/robotics-software-engineer-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-ps7ap4bv2hmh) — Charlestown, MA - [Director of People Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/director-of-people-operations-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-khkgrc550vk8) — Charlestown, MA - [Senior Electrical Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-electrical-engineer-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-bkbjs3nec65z) — Charlestown, MA - [Backend Software Engineer – Software Architecture](https://feeny.ai/job/backend-software-engineer-software-architecture-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-z87kvqdn4mj1) — Charlestown, MA - [Backend Software Engineer – Human-Robot Interaction](https://feeny.ai/job/backend-software-engineer-human-robot-interaction-pickle-robot-company-mz04ahgzm3d1) — Charlestown, MA - [Simulation Software Engineer – Robotics Platform](https://feeny.ai/job/simulation-software-engineer-robotics-platform-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-g3m1q7r3w4wm) — Charlestown, MA - [Backend Software Engineer – Autonomy](https://feeny.ai/job/backend-software-engineer-autonomy-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-nt57e6xvnw02) — Charlestown, MA - [Physical AI Architect](https://feeny.ai/job/physical-ai-architect-pickle-robot-company-charlestown-kbppjzng1kvg) — Charlestown, MA