Robotics Software Engineer

About Tangent Robotics

At Tangent Robotics (https://www.tangentrobotics.ai/), we're building dexterous robot hands and the learned policies that make them useful. We believe manipulation is the last great unsolved problem in robotics, and the place where the real value of a general-purpose robot lives. Our mission is to give future robots the hands they deserve.

We're a small and tight-knit team of builders, backed by early-stage investors, based in New York City, and carrying forward the research spirit of Columbia University. We move fast, stay at the frontier, and care deeply about the craft of full-stack robotics.

About the Role

We're looking for a Robotics Software Engineer to join us as one of our early hires. You'll be the connective tissue of our robot stack — building the systems that let hardware and learning research come together into something that actually works. This role is full stack: one day you're tuning a robot hand controller, the next you're architecting the data collection pipeline.

If you love sitting next to a robot, write code to make the robot move elegantly, and get genuine satisfaction from watching a robot do something it couldn't do yesterday — this is that job.

You will be working on:

• Building and maintaining the full robotics software stack, from low-level control loops to high-level task execution and system integration
• Owning the part of them system architecture — keeping it clean, reliable, and fast
• Delivering our software to future customers for production environments
• Working shoulder-to-shoulder with the mechatronics team to bring up new hardware, debug failure modes, and close the loop between hardware and software
• Partnering with the robot learning team to integrate and deploy trained policies on real hardware

What We’re Looking For

• MS in robotics-related fields, or BS with rich industry experience
• Strong proficiency in Python, working knowledge of C++
• Deep familiarity with ROS/ROS2 — architecture, tooling, debugging, and all
• Knowledge of software development processes, such as version control, CI/CD, Docker/containerization.
• Fundamentals in robotic manipulation, including kinematics, dynamics, and control
• Great patience and resilience in debugging and refactoring when things do not work as expected
• Clear communicator who thrives in a collaborative, fast-moving environment

Bonus Points

• Experience with dexterous or multi-fingered hands
• Exposure to learning-based control or deploying ML models on robot hardware
• Publications or open-source contributions in robotics
• Time spent deploying robots outside of a lab setting

Why You'll Want to Join Us

Manipulation is hard – that's the point. You'll be working on one of the most technically challenging problems in robotics, with full ownership over your work.

We're building the team and the culture from scratch, which means your voice matters — on the research direction, the engineering stack, and what kind of place Tangent becomes. We're friends who hold each other to a high standard and genuinely enjoy the work.

We're based in the heart of Manhattan, New York City — great access to one of the world's most active innovation hubs and tech communities.

Last but not least, we offer immigration sponsorship for graduates of US universities, and a full benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 401(k), commuter benefits, etc.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $120,000.00 - $200,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• 401(k)
• 401(k) matching
• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Experience:

• robotics: 2 years (Required)

Ability to Relocate:

• New York, NY 10001: Relocate before starting work (Required)

Work Location: In person