Robotic Tech Lead

1. Role Summary

We are building a modular 6-axis industrial robot and cobot platform spanning multiple payload variants (5 kg, 15 kg, 25 kg, 50 kg and 100 kg) for pick-and-place, machine tending, assembly, palletising and general industrial automation. The platform includes our own kinematics and motion-control software, an in-house simulation and calibration environment (ROS2 / Ubuntu and Windows-native), G-code and program-driven robot control, and a family of interchangeable grippers.

As Robotics Technical Lead, you will own the end-to-end technical architecture of the 6-axis robot and cobot product line from joint-level servo control and inverse kinematics to simulation, safety certification readiness and customer deployment. This is a hands-on leadership role: you will write and review code, debug real hardware on the shop floor, and mentor a cross-functional team of firmware, mechanical, PCB and application engineers.

2. Key Responsibilities

Robot architecture and motion control

• Own the complete motion stack for the 6-axis robot and cobot variants: forward/inverse kinematics, Jacobians, singularity handling, trajectory generation, jerk-limited interpolation, dynamics and payload compensation.
• Design and tune closed-loop joint control (PID, feed-forward, impedance/admittance and current/torque control) across servo drives, harmonic-drive joints, absolute encoders and brakes.
• Define and maintain robot models (URDF/DH parameters, mass and inertia data) for each payload variant so a single control architecture scales from 5 kg to 100 kg.
• Lead calibration methodology — joint zeroing, kinematic and tool-centre-point (TCP) calibration, backlash and compliance compensation — and define repeatability and accuracy acceptance criteria.

Cobot-specific capability

• Drive collaborative-mode features: current/torque-based collision detection, safety-rated speed and separation monitoring, power-and-force-limited operation, hand-guiding/teach-by-demonstration and safe stop categories.
• Build safety architecture aligned to ISO 10218-1/-2 and ISO/TS 15066 for collaborative applications, plus functional-safety review, risk assessment and E-stop/safety-relay integration with mechanical and electrical teams.
• Own the operator experience for cobot deployment: teach pendant / UI workflows, waypoint teaching, program storage and one-click redeploy at customer sites.

Software platform and simulation

• Lead development of our in-house industrial-grade robot software: controller runtime, real-time layer on Linux (PREEMPT_RT / Xenomai-class determinism), motion API, and PC/HMI application.
• Own the simulation and digital-twin environment — ROS2 on Ubuntu plus the Windows-native simulator — including STL/CAD model swapping between robot variants, workspace and reach visualisation, collision checking, cycle-time estimation and continuous-motion stability/endurance runs.
• Deliver G-code driven robot control and post-processor support so CAM-style programs can drive the arm, alongside standard robot program formats.
• Define software engineering standards: C++/Python code structure, CMake builds, unit and hardware-in-the-loop tests, Git branching, CI/CD, versioning and release notes for controller firmware and application software.

Hardware and system integration

• Work with firmware, PCB and mechanical teams on servo drive selection, motor/gearbox sizing, EtherCAT/CANopen/CAN-FD field buses, safety I/O, cabling and control-cabinet architecture.
• Integrate end-effectors and peripherals: electromagnetic grippers, 2/3/5-finger grippers, wrist and custom grippers, force-torque sensors, 2D/3D vision, conveyors, PLCs and Modbus/OPC-UA/Ethernet-IP factory interfaces.
• Bring up new prototype arms — first power-on, joint commissioning, thermal and duty-cycle testing, endurance and repeatability qualification.

Technical leadership and delivery

• Lead, mentor and technically review a team of robotics, firmware and application engineers; run design reviews and code reviews.
• Convert product requirements into architecture documents, module specifications, stage-wise development plans and milestone-based schedules for prototype and go-to-market stages.
• Support pre-sales and customer engagements: feasibility studies, cycle-time and ROI analysis, application simulations, proof-of-concept cells, FAT/SAT and commissioning.
• Own technical documentation: design specs, safety files, integration manuals, service procedures, training material and customer handover packs.

3. Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Robotics, Mechatronics, Electrical/Electronics, Instrumentation, Computer Science or a related engineering discipline.
• 8+ years of hands-on robotics or industrial automation experience, with demonstrable work on 6-axis articulated arms and/or collaborative robots — either building them or deploying them in production cells.
• Strong applied knowledge of robot kinematics, inverse kinematics, dynamics, trajectory planning and control theory, proven on real hardware rather than simulation only.
• Expert-level C++ and Python on Linux; comfortable with real-time constraints, multithreading and profiling.
• Practical ROS2 experience (nodes, topics/services/actions, lifecycle, DDS, ros2_control, MoveIt 2) and simulation tools such as Gazebo, Isaac Sim, RoboDK or equivalent.
• Embedded and motion hardware exposure: servo drives, motor controllers, encoders, EtherCAT/CANopen/CAN, RS-485, safety I/O and microcontroller or embedded-Linux targets.
• Demonstrated technical leadership: leading a small team, owning architecture decisions, reviewing others' designs and delivering a product to release.
• Strong debugging discipline across the hardware/software boundary — oscilloscopes, bus analysers, logs, torque and current traces.

4. Preferred / Advantageous

• Experience taking an industrial robot or cobot from prototype to series production, including DFM, supplier qualification and field service feedback loops.
• Familiarity with ISO 10218, ISO/TS 15066, ISO 13849 / Performance Level (PL d), CE marking and machinery-safety documentation.
• Robot brand experience — Universal Robots, Doosan, Techman, FANUC, ABB, KUKA, Yaskawa, Denso — including their programming environments and post-processors.
• Machine vision and bin-picking: camera calibration, hand-eye calibration, 3D point-cloud processing, pose estimation.
• Yocto / embedded-Linux build systems, OTA firmware update and secure boot for robot controllers.
• CAD/CAE literacy (SolidWorks, FreeCAD, Fusion) and ability to interpret mechanical drawings and STL/STEP models.
• Exposure to G-code, CNC post-processing or CAM workflows applied to robot motion.
• MISRA C / coding-standard compliance, cybersecurity awareness (CRA-style requirements) for connected industrial equipment.