Robotics Software Engineer at Ultra (S24)
$150K - $250K  •  0.10% - 1.00%
Practical, general-purpose robots for repetitive industrial tasks
New York, NY, US
Full-time
1+ years
About Ultra

Ultra builds practical, general-purpose robots focused on repetitive manipulation tasks.

Unlike traditional industrial automation that’s rigid and complex, our robots are zero integration—able to be installed in hours, not weeks—and are highly flexible, capable of quickly learning new tasks and delivering immediate ROI.

Founded by a team of three-time entrepreneurs with a decade of collaboration, Ultra moves fast and decisively. We already have robots in the field generating revenue and data, with plans to rapidly scale deployments this year.

About the role
Skills: Python

About Us

Ultra is accelerating progress toward boundless automation through a grounded and applied approach to general-purpose robots.

Unlike traditional industrial automation that’s rigid and complex, our robots are zero integration—able to be installed in hours, not weeks—and are highly flexible, capable of quickly learning new tasks and delivering immediate ROI.

Founded by a team of three-time entrepreneurs with a decade of collaboration, Ultra moves fast and decisively. We already have robots in the field generating revenue and data, with plans to rapidly scale deployments this year.

We’re seeking a Robotics Engineer to join our NYC-based team (we are an in-person company), and help lead the development of our robot. We are an early stage company moving very fast in a rapidly growing space, and welcome people from any background as long as you’re excited to join our mission, drive immediate impact, and create a future where automation is accessible to all.

Who You Are

  • Generalist engineer who wants to build and train robots
  • You know how to deploy high-quality production code as a part of a software team
  • You thrive in a high-trust, high-autonomy environment. You don’t need to be micromanaged on what the top priorities are at any given moment
  • You’re hungry for impact and personal growth, and like to have fun in the pursuit

What You’ll Do

  • Implement constrained IK solvers and low-level control loops to build robot interfaces that are optimized for teleoperation and neural network control
  • Wholistic robot and process design for our robots and their intended applications
  • Develop our SOTA teleoperation stack
    • Push the boundaries on how close to zero we can bring latency (hardware stack, video encoding, low latency networking, middleware, etc.) whilst still remaining safe and reliable
    • Develop novel interfaces and feedback mechanisms for human-robot teleoperation and teleoperator-robot-ai interaction
  • Rapid hardware evaluation to guide our robot design
    • Research, prioritize, and source hardware components for the system (e.g. arms, end effectors, cameras, motion capture systems)
    • Integrate with new hardware systems, writing high quality drivers and evaluating their performance
    • Communicate with suppliers to resolve hardware issues
  • Implement simulations that closely match our hardware
  • Go on-site with customers for installation and support when necessary. Some travel will be required (up to 1x/mo)

Bonus Points

  • MechE/EE experience for designing and manufacturing robotics components including custom PCBs, engineered parts, and more.
  • You have been staying on top of cutting edge robotics research
Technology

We’re building general-purpose robots that learn new tasks fast and deploy in hours, not weeks. Our stack combines real-time teleop, low-latency control, and neural network-based autonomy. We optimize end-to-end—from custom IK solvers and low-level drivers to vision-language-action models trained on production robot data. Stack: Python, C++, ROS2, PyTorch, simulation, real hardware. Problems: real-time control, robot learning, sim-to-real, scalable deployment.

Interview Process

Interviewing for a Software Role at Ultra

We’re looking for exceptional builders who are technical, curious, and driven. We care about ownership, creativity, and a willingness to grow fast with a small team. We expect people at Ultra to lead projects, solve hard problems, and help define what we build.

Below is what to expect in our interview process.

Intro Call (45 mins)

This is a get-to-know-you call. We’ll cover:

  • Your background, interests, and what you’re looking for
  • What you’re great at, what excites you, and a project you’re proud of
  • What you’re like outside of work—things you love or excel at
  • Logistics:
  • Willingness to relocate to NYC
  • Timeline, competing offers
  • Work authorization
  • Overview of our interview process

Technical Interview (60–90 mins)

This is a deep dive into your past work.

We’ll pick one or two technical projects you’ve worked on and explore them in detail—starting high-level and drilling down to specific implementation decisions. We’re interested in how you think, what tradeoffs you’ve made, and how you solved real problems.

No formal prep required, but it helps to come ready with a couple projects you know inside out. Demos, photos, or videos are welcome but not required.

Onsite (4–8 hrs)

A full day with the team. This includes:

  • Project session (1–2 hrs): Presentation-style or hands-on. We’re assessing technical strength and collaboration.
  • Behavioral interview: We’ll explore culture fit, communication, and how you’ve handled adversity.

References / Follow-ups

If things go well, we’ll move to reference calls or follow-up chats.

Offer

We aim to move quickly—let us know if you’re on a tight timeline.

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