Robotics Engineer (Path Planning)

Department: Software

Location: Sterling

Employment Type: FullTime

ABOUT US

Hey! We’re Molg 👋 We’re building robotic systems that make electronics manufacturing circular. We work with hyperscalers and leading electronics manufacturers to automate how hardware is designed, manufactured, disassembled, repaired, reused, and recovered. Using robotics, computational design, and AI, our systems turn today’s e-waste into resilient, data-driven supply chains—and change how electronics are made in the first place.

IN THIS ROLE YOU WILL:

Join a cross-functional team of robotics, software, and mechanical engineers to build the motion planning core that powers Molg’s robotic microfactories. As a Robotics Engineer (Path Planning), you will:

• Design and implement motion and path planning algorithms for arm-based industrial robots operating in dense, multi-arm robotic cells.

• Develop robust collision detection and avoidance systems that account for robot geometry, tooling, fixtures, and dynamic obstacles.

• Build and maintain multi-arm coordination strategies, including synchronization, shared workspace reasoning, and deadlock avoidance.

• Integrate motion planning systems with real robotic hardware, controllers, and higher-level task planning software.

• Tune planners for real-world execution, balancing optimality, speed, determinism, and safety under production constraints.

• Work closely with mechanical and systems engineers to ensure motion plans are feasible given real tolerances, compliance, and variability.

• Debug and improve robot behavior using data from live cells, logs, and telemetry—not just simulation results.

• Contribute to architectural decisions around planning frameworks, kinematics representations, and system performance.

You’ll have the opportunity to build alongside an incredible team, develop innovative solutions, and grow in a fast-paced environment that values autonomy and impact.

WHO YOU ARE:

You are a hands-on robotics engineer who understands that planning only matters if it works on real robots. You bring:

• Strong experience with motion and path planning for arm-based robots (industrial or collaborative).

• Solid understanding of collision detection, geometric reasoning, and kinematics in constrained environments.

• Experience coordinating multiple robotic arms operating in shared or overlapping workspaces.

• Proficiency in C++ and/or Python for robotics and performance-critical systems.

• Comfort working with robotics middleware and frameworks (e.g., ROS2, custom planners).

• Ability to work in-person at Molg HQ in Sterling, VA.

WHO WE ARE:

We spend our days building robotic systems, developing complex assembly intelligence software, and designing the next generation of circular products for our customers. Given the importance of working hands-on with physical systems, we are a 100% in-person team collaboratively working in our industrial space in Sterling, VA, down the road from the largest data center market in the world. Our facility includes a variety of robots, CNC milling machines, 3D printers, and all the tools needed to build and test our products. It is important to us that anyone on our team that is interested in learning how to use our various pieces of equipment and machinery is taught and can gain the skills and appreciation for making physical things.

THINGS TO KNOW:

• We’re a hands on collaborative team with big ambitions, and there’s a good amount of context-switching. We expect people to be autonomous and drive their own work to completion.

• We are scrappy and looking to build a great sustainable company for years to come.

• As a growing company and startup, priorities may shift as customer or business requirements change. We strive to empower individuals with context and decision-making power to meet this need.