Robotics Software Integration Engineer — Cobots + Vision Systems (Chicago area a plus, NDA required)

We're an early-stage venture building an advanced automation system and need a strong robotics software/integration engineer to own the software layer that ties our hardware together. This is hands-on integration work: making perception, motion, and control software talk to physical collaborative robot arms reliably and repeatably. Because this is confidential pre-launch work, the job description here is intentionally high-level. A signed NDA is required before any candidate receives project specifics or a technical deep-dive. Please don't ask us to describe the product in the application thread — qualified candidates will be walked through scope after an initial screen and NDA. We're looking for someone who has actually shipped working robotics integration, not someone who has read about it. What you'll be doing (general) Integrating machine-vision / perception systems with collaborative robot arms Building and debugging the software bridge between high-level control logic and physical hardware Motion planning, calibration, coordinate-frame work, and real-time control Getting a multi-component system to behave deterministically and recover gracefully from faults Working closely with a small, fast-moving team to hit a near-term build milestone Required — please do not apply without these Demonstrable, hands-on experience integrating collaborative robot arms (e.g., Fairino, Universal Robots, or comparable 6-axis cobots) — including programming, motion control, and I/O Real experience with machine vision / camera-based perception systems (detection, pose estimation, hand-eye calibration, or similar) Strong coding ability in the languages this work actually uses — Python and C++; comfort with ROS/ROS 2 or equivalent robotics middleware Experience getting hardware + software to work together in the real world (not just simulation) Immediate availability and the bandwidth to engage now, not in a month Strong pluses Based in or near the Chicago / Northbrook, IL area and able to come on-site at least part-time (significant advantage) Experience with industrial automation, sensor fusion, or safety/fault-handling systems Comfort working in a confidential, fast-iteration startup environment Logistics Engagement type: part-time to start, with potential to expand based on fit On-site (Chicago area) preferred; remote considered for an exceptional candidate NDA required before technical details are shared To apply — answer these in your proposal (applications that skip them will be ignored): Name two specific cobot platforms you've programmed and what you built with each. Describe one vision-system integration you personally implemented — what was the perception task, and how did you handle calibration? What's your current location, and can you come on-site part-time in the Chicago area? Confirm your availability to start within the next 1–2 weeks and that you're willing to sign an NDA.