--- title: 'Senior Software Engineer at Third Wave Automation' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-third-wave-automation-union-city-95vd770226dx' type: 'job' last_seen: '2026-09-08' --- # Senior Software Engineer at Third Wave Automation - **Company:** Third Wave Automation - **Location:** Union City, CA - **Posted:** 2026-07-06 - **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-08 - **Apply:** https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/thirdwaveautomation/jobs/7796258003 ## Job description Company Description Third Wave Automation is a rapidly growing startup that has demonstrated its core technology components, proven its market fit, and just closed its Series C funding. If you are excited about cutting edge machine learning, robotics that affects the real world, and want to join a company where your skills can have a huge impact, you’ll fit right in. Third Wave Automation is applying modern machine learning to materials handling—delivering site-specific forklift navigation and infrastructure-free pallet handling that continuously adapts to changing floor configuration and warehouse demand. Job Description Third Wave Automation is looking for a strong Software Engineer who is able to lead development of a major component of our Fleet Services codebase. We are currently transitioning one of our products into a massive scale-up (100–1000 units) in partnership with a world-leading forklift OEM and this will be an opportunity for Third Wave to invest in our core system and services that optimize the running of our fleets at customer sites. In this role, you will serve as a technical expert working with the other Software Engineers in Fleet Services as well as provide architectural and design oversight to interfacing with third party systems (WMS, WCS, other fleet/site management systems, etc.) as well our front end/operator interface and the fleets of forklifts our systems manage.  Success in this role leverages a broad experience base of serve based compute/networking/deployment solutions with a strong “build it first’ mentality. You will serve as a primary technical interface with our other lead SW and Robotics Engineers and also collaborate with the OEM partner’s engineers. We empower our team with an AI-first engineering culture, leveraging LLMs and generative tools to accelerate the SDLC. You will champion this modern development stack to meet the rigorous expectations of a global industrial leader without sacrificing startup velocity. You are a "Systems-First" leader who can still jump into C++/Python code but spends your best cycles focusing on reliability enhancements, performance tuning, and the rigorous documentation required for a mature  product. This role is a cornerstone of TWA’s evolution from an R&D-focused startup to a premier product delivery company. You will leverage your broad experience in both server-based and robotic/hardware systems to drive successful delivery, helping TWA capture a billion-dollar market and delight customers at an unprecedented scale. ## How You Can Make an Impact - Drive the "Final Mile" of Productization: Lead the transition of core fleet service components from stable prototypes to high-availability, hardened production systems capable of supporting 24/7 operations. - Architect Distributed Integrations: Oversee design and data pipelines connecting edge site infrastructure to cloud environments, ensuring robust real-time communication via low-latency protocols (WebSockets, MQTT, or gRPC). - Champion Infrastructure Observability (SRE Mindset): Propose, design, and implement robust logging, telemetry, and monitoring code for our core infrastructure pieces. You will ensure the engineering team has full observability to proactively spot anomalies before they impact warehouse operations. - Lead Advanced Diagnostics & Troubleshooting: Act as a premier technical investigator for deep-tier system issues. You will dive into complex edge failures across the hardware/software boundary, diagnose root causes, and propose permanent structural or code fixes. - Master the C++ Core: Own, optimize, and harden performance-critical C++ components within the Fleet Services and edge software stacks. You will tackle complex concurrency, low-latency messaging, and resource constraints head-on. - Scale with an AI-First Mindset: Actively use and champion generative AI tools (e.g., Gemini, Cursor) to streamline boilerplate development, optimize API testing, and accelerate overall feature velocity. - Technical Guidance & Mentorship: Provide high-signal code reviews and technical mentorship to intermediate and junior engineers, fostering a culture of continuous learning and rigorous engineering standards. ## Minimum Qualifications - Experience: 7–10+ years of professional software engineering experience, with a proven track record of shipping scalable backend components or distributed systems. - Production-Grade C++ Expertise: Deep, hands-on mastery of modern C++ (C++14/17/20) in a Linux environment. You have a stellar grasp of systems programming, memory management, and debugging multi-threaded applications. - SRE & Systems Troubleshooting Acumen: Strong experience or a background in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) concepts. You are highly skilled at diagnosing distributed systems failures and building customized system monitoring/alerting infrastructure. - Data & Messaging Mastery: Strong hands-on experience handling real-time data flows, message brokers (e.g., MQTT, gRPC, WebSockets), and relational/non-relational database management. - Infrastructure & Tooling: High comfort level with Linux internals, shell scripting, Python, and containerized edge clusters (Docker, Kubernetes/K3s). - AI Tooling Competency: Fluent with AI-assisted workflows to accelerate solution prototyping, test automation, and systems documentation. - Communication: Exceptional collaborative communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to clarify technical trade-offs across product management and cross-functional teams. ## Preferred Qualifications - Prior experience in robotics, IoT deployments, autonomous vehicles, or safety-critical industrial environments. - Experience deploying and managing bare-metal software stacks at the network edge. - Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related quantitative discipline More About Working Here Our Core Values: - Safety. We consider safety in everything we do. - People. We care about our teammates as people. - Encouragement. We encourage teaching, asking questions, and sharing opinions. - Transparency. We are transparent and sincere in our actions. A robust set of benefits and perks: - Comprehensive benefits. Health, Dental, Vision, and a 401k matching program, to boot! - Flexible working schedule. Be productive when you work best. - Show & Tell. We love to learn from one another, and see the cool stuff everyone is working on! - Meals are covered. Lunch is provided every day, and dinner for those evenings that run long. - Stacks of snacks. Donuts are a main food group, and the snack shelf is always stocked with a wide variety of items. - Great teammates. One of the best parts of working here! We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We value each person's expertise and experiences. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status. All qualified applicants able to work in the United States are encouraged to apply. We are unable to sponsor H-1 visas subject to fees required by the ‘Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers’ Presidential Proclamation dated September 21, 2025. This job is based in Union City at least three days a week and offers no relocation assistance. The pay range for this position is $195,000 - $250,000/yr+ benefits+equity; however, base pay offered will vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. 141 ## About Third Wave Automation ## Company Overview - **One-liner**: Third Wave Automation provides an intelligent, autonomous warehouse automation platform combining a hybrid fleet of autonomous forklifts with a fleet management system and remote operation capabilities. - **Entity Type**: Private (Series C) - **Headquarters**: Union City, California, USA - **Founded**: 2018 - **Founders**: Arshan Poursohi (CEO) and Julian Mason ## Core Business - **Primary industry**: Warehouse Automation, Robotics, Physical AI - **Target customers**: B2B, focusing on warehouse, distribution, and manufacturing operations of all sizes (SMB to Enterprise), particularly those with existing forklift fleets. - **Mission or purpose statement**: To alleviate increasing supply chain stress using intelligent physical AI products and services that bring people and automated systems together to improve throughput, efficiency, and safety. ## Products & Services - **Shared Autonomy Platform**: The core technology—a software-defined system that combines autonomous forklifts, intelligent fleet management, and remote operation/assistance. It is designed to improve over time through continuous learning. - **ArmadaFMS (Fleet Management System)**: The software platform for operators to manage the entire forklift fleet, execute and monitor workflows, respond to system requests, and configure warehouse zones dynamically. - **TWA Reach**: A fully autonomous reach truck that can be deployed on-site within weeks without requiring additional infrastructure changes. - **Remote Exception Handling & Remote Operation**: Allows a single operator to manage up to 10 forklifts, intervening only when the autonomous system encounters an issue, which it learns from over time. - **Robots-as-a-Service (RaaS)**: A pay-as-you-go subscription model with a fixed monthly fee, requiring no large capital outlay and offering flexible terms. ## Market Standing - **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed. - **Key Metric**: Total funding of **$97M** across 4 rounds (Seed, Series A, B, C). - Series C (Oct 2024): $27M led by Woven Capital (Toyota's growth fund). - Series B (Aug 2021): $40M led by Norwest Venture Partners. - Series A (Jun 2020): $15M led by Innovation Endeavors. - Seed (Jun 2018): Led by Eclipse. - Venture Round (Feb 2023): $15M led by Zebra Technologies and Qualcomm Ventures. - **Notable Investors/Partners**: Woven Capital (Toyota), Norwest Venture Partners, Innovation Endeavors, Eclipse, Zebra Technologies, Qualcomm Ventures, and The Raymond Corporation (technology partnership). - **Growth Signals**: - Annual revenue estimated at **$3.5M** (LinkedIn data). - Headcount of **33 employees**, with a -10.6% yearly growth but a +2.4% monthly growth, and **5 active job postings** (monthly posting growth of +66.7%). - Claims a **2-week go-live time** and full deployment in 1-4 months. - Reports **100% inventory accuracy**, **zero safety incidents**, and **zero racking damage** across thousands of operating hours. - Presence in Japan. ## Competitive Advantages - **Shared Autonomy**: The unique hybrid model where a single remote operator manages a fleet of autonomous forklifts, intervening only for exceptions. The system continuously learns from these interventions, improving its autonomy over time. - **No Infrastructure Upgrades**: The system is software-defined and requires no changes to existing warehouse racks, floors, or infrastructure, enabling rapid deployment. - **RaaS Model**: Lowers the barrier to entry for automation by avoiding large capital expenditures (CapEx) with a predictable monthly subscription fee. - **Safety-First Design**: Designed to comply with ANSI/ITSDF B56.5 and ISO 3691-4 standards, with a proven track record of zero injuries. - **Single Source Provider**: Provides the entire stack—hardware, software, and support—as one integrated solution. ## Strategic Focus - **Scaling Deployment**: Moving from pilot programs to rapid, large-scale deployments with a focus on a payback period of under 12 months for customers. - **Continuous Improvement**: The core differentiator is a system that gets smarter with every shift, improving efficiency, safety, and accuracy over time. - **Partnerships**: Deepening ties with key partners like The Raymond Corporation and Toyota (via Woven Capital) to expand market reach and integrate with existing material handling ecosystems. - **Global Expansion**: Establishing a presence in Japan, a key market for automotive and logistics automation. ## Why Work Here - **Culture**: Rated **4.1/5.0 on LinkedIn** (11 reviews) with a Culture score of **4.7/5.0**. Employees describe the culture as inclusive, supportive, and driven by innovation, with cross-functional collaboration and weekly demos. - **Work Model**: Flexible work hours and partial remote work options. The HQ is in Union City, CA. - **Benefits**: - Comprehensive health, dental, vision, life insurance, FSA/HSA, telemedicine, and mental health support (Spring Health, EAP). - 401(k) with up to a 4% company match. - **$4,000 annual professional development budget** for training, courses, and certifications. - Daily lunches, snacks, and dinner for late workers. - Flexible vacation with no accrual, plus paid holidays and a company-wide break. - **Engineering Focus**: High concentration of technical talent (33% of staff) with talent sourced from Toyota Research Institute, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and top robotics companies. Open roles include Senior Perception, Robotics, and SRE engineers. - **Impact**: Opportunity to work on a physical AI product that directly improves warehouse safety and efficiency, with a clear mission and real-world impact. ## Sources 1. [thirdwave.ai](https://thirdwave.ai/) 2. [thirdwave.ai/about-us](https://thirdwave.ai/about-us) 3. [thirdwave.ai/join-our-team](https://thirdwave.ai/join-our-team) 4. [LinkedIn Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/thirdwaveautomation) 5. [Greenhouse Careers Page](https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/thirdwaveautomation) ## Other roles at Third Wave Automation - [Technical Lead Manager - Robotics Software Engineering](https://feeny.ai/job/technical-lead-manager-robotics-software-engineering-third-wave-automation-h7ydtndk0jgt) — Union City, CA - [Senior Software Engineer - Robotics](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-robotics-third-wave-automation-union-city-ks0d539dphbe) — Union City, CA - [Staff Technical Product Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/staff-technical-product-manager-third-wave-automation-union-city-y3kdgj2azrky) — Union City, CA - [Customer Success & Operations Leader](https://feeny.ai/job/customer-success-operations-leader-third-wave-automation-union-city-n94n5qrwz29b) — Union City, CA - [Sr. Data Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/sr-data-engineer-third-wave-automation-union-city-182sw5btxtzn) — Union City, CA - [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-inkind-remote-f29myj5y3cqm) - [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-legora-london-yge34em2hk2x) — London, United Kingdom - [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-clari-salesloft-guadalajara-j8cph7mdm8jd) — Guadalajara, Mexico - [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-provenir-inc-united-kingdom-9nphmgbm460e) — United Kingdom - [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-samsara-san-francisco-638rhwde1qvq) — San Francisco, CA