Senior Robotics Engineer

At Relativity Space, we're building rockets to serve today's needs and tomorrow's breakthroughs. Our Terran R vehicle will deliver customer payloads to orbit, meeting the growing demand for launch capacity. But that's just the start. Achieving commercial success with Terran R will unlock new opportunities to advance science, exploration, and innovation, pioneering progress that reaches beyond the known.

Joining Relativity means becoming part of something where autonomy, ownership, and impact exist at every level. Here, you're not just executing tasks; you're solving problems that haven't been solved before, helping develop a rocket, a factory, and a business from the ground up. Whether you're in propulsion, manufacturing, software, avionics, or a corporate function, you'll collaborate across teams, shape decisions, and see your work come to life in record time. Relativity is a place where creativity and
technical rigor go hand in hand, and your voice will help define the stories we're writing together. Now is a unique moment in time where it's early enough to leave your mark on the product, the process, and the culture, but far enough along that Terran R is tangible and picking up momentum. The most meaningful work of your career is waiting. Join us.

About the Team:

The additive technology team leads research and development of Relativity's Stargate 3D-printing platform and factory operating system to produce large-scale metal structures for the industrial base. The team works with robotics engineers, data scientists, systems engineers, and welders to advance Relativity's innovative tech stack, which leverages autonomy, advanced simulation, machine learning, and robotics. Working at the intersection of hardware and software, the team is creating a unified platform that can perform additive manufacturing, in-situ monitoring, NDE, and subtraction capabilities in a single print cell. Progressing in parallel to Terran R development, Relativity's breakthroughs in large-scale additive manufacturing have the potential to revolutionize the defense industrial base.

About the Role:

As a Senior Robotics Engineer, you will lead the development, integration, and optimization of automation systems for our cooperative robotics platform. You will focus on designing and implementing robotic control systems, programming PLCs, and developing real-time systems to enhance operational efficiency and precision. Your expertise will drive the advancement of our automation capabilities, creating solutions for industrial automation.

About You:

• Education: BS, MS, or PhD in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field, or be self-taught with decade(s) of hands-on experience
• Experience in designing, implementing, and optimizing control systems for robotic applications
• Familiarity with protocols such as EtherCAT, CANbus, Ethernet/IP, PROFINET, and safety protocols (FSoE, profiSAFE) used in industrial automation
• Demonstrated knowledge of real-time operating systems (RTOS) and principles of real-time computing for deterministic control
• Demonstrated ability to troubleshoot and resolve complex issues in automation systems, ensuring reliability and performance
• Experience with functional safety standards in industrial automation such as ISO13849 and ISO61508, as well as performing standardized risk assessment such as described in ISO12100

Nice to haves but not required:

• Experience with advanced motion control techniques, such as trajectory planning, servo control, and kinematics
• Knowledge of computer vision techniques for enhancing automation capabilities, including object detection and tracking
• Experience with programming and integrating industrial robots used for material handling and logistics
• Demonstrated experience staying updated with the latest advancements in automation and robotics technologies and willingness to explore and experiment with new tools and methodologies to enhance system capabilities

At Relativity Space, we are committed to transparency and fairness in our compensation practices. Actual compensation will be determined based on experience, qualifications, and other job-related factors.

Compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. Relativity Space offers competitive salary and equity, a generous PTO and sick leave policy, parental leave, an annual learning and development stipend, and more! To see some of the benefits & perks we offer, please visit here.

Hiring Range:

$157,000-$200,000 USD

We are an equal opportunity employer and value diversity at our company. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.