Boston Dynamics

Boston Dynamics' goal is to revolutionize the logistics and manufacturing industries by introducing highly capable and intelligent mobile manipulation platforms. Stretch is the first mobile robot for truck unloading that will also address any box-handling job in the warehouse.

Your job as Senior Director of Software Development is to navigate this nascent market's successful creation and domination by creating great products with leading technology guided by customer feedback. We are seeking a visionary and experienced Director of Software Development to lead our brilliant team of software engineers and drive the next generation of our warehouse robotics platform. Our intelligent software is the backbone of our robotic systems, enabling unprecedented performance, accuracy, and scalability.

In this pivotal role, you will be responsible for the overall strategy, execution, and excellence of our software development efforts. You will guide the team in creating robust, scalable, and innovative software that powers Stretch, supporting systems, and integrations into customers’ operations. This is a unique opportunity to shape the future of a rapidly growing industry and make a tangible impact on a global scale.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Strategic Leadership: Define and execute the strategic technology roadmap for our end-to-end robotics system. You will guide the evolution of our robots' behavior and capabilities to solve today's customer challenges and unlock future applications. Drive a scalable, reliable, and secure software architecture that serves as the foundation for our product growth and business objectives. Develop and execute a comprehensive software development roadmap that aligns with our company's vision and business objectives. Stay at the forefront of advancements in robotics, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and warehouse automation. Identify and champion emerging technologies that can enhance our product offerings and maintain our competitive edge.
• Team Leadership & Mentorship: Lead, mentor, and grow a high-performing software development organization. Foster a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement. Provide guidance and career development opportunities for your team members, from junior engineers to senior leads. Foster a team culture of empowerment and action.
• Organizational Design: Establish an organizational structure and a means to measure its effectiveness, focused on execution and planning for future growth, and ensuring an ability to work on both short-term and long-term needs.
• Technical Execution: Oversee the entire software development lifecycle, from conception and design to deployment and maintenance. Champion best practices in software engineering, including Agile methodologies, CI/CD, automated testing, and code quality standards to ensure production code is released with predictable cadence and high quality. Build machine learning-focused infrastructure and development methodologies to scale software performance with data. Oversee the successful execution of complex software projects, ensuring they are delivered on time and within budget.
• Collaboration with Product Management: Ensure that you and your team are in lock step with product management. Develop how we will deliver products that will have the highest customer impact. Work through tradeoffs with product management to deliver the roadmap, negotiating through priorities and resource constraints.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Serve as a key technical leader within the organization, effectively communicating complex technical concepts to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. Collaborate with hardware engineering to solve complex systems engineering challenges. Work closely with adjacent organizations to ensure maximal commonality across all our platforms.
• Customer Collaboration: Build strong relationships with key partners and customers to develop impactful solutions to customers’ biggest problems in warehouse automation.

Education & Experience

• BS in computer science or related field, MS preferred
• 10+ years of software development experience
• Experience leading/interacting with customers
• 5+ years of people management experience in software engineering, leading multiple teams which work together to deliver a complex whole product ecosystem.
• Demonstrated experience building ecosystems of products and executing projects
• Proven track record of successfully leading and scaling software engineering teams in a fast-paced, product-driven environment.
• Deep understanding of the software development lifecycle and extensive experience with Agile methodologies.

Strong technical background in one or more of the following areas:

• Robotics software development, including control systems, motion planning, and navigation.
• Ability to lead across many software domains, including embedded, robotics control and perception, user-facing applications, and distributed systems.
• Experience managing development of complex machine learning and AI capabilities for robotics.
• Experience in and passion for transforming the logistics and supply chain industries is highly desirable.
• Experience developing robust simulation capabilities, software in the loop, and hardware in the loop testing methodologies to increase robustness and development velocity.
• Excellent problem-solving, analytical, and strategic thinking skills.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to inspire and motivate teams.
• Experience integrating with Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) or Warehouse Execution Systems (WES) is highly desirable.