Staff Developer Experience Engineer

About the company

Atoms is Travis Kalanick’s rebranded robotics and automation holding company that evolved from his CloudKitchens project.

About this role

<p><strong>Who we are</strong><strong><br></strong></p> <p>Atoms is building the machines that power the next era of progress.</p> <p>Over the last decade, software has transformed the digital world. But the physical world, where food is made, minerals are mined, goods are moved, and industries are run, remains far less intelligent, far less efficient, and far more constrained. We’re changing that.</p> <p>Atoms builds Physical AI - real-world robots for the industries that move civilization forward, starting with food, mining, and transport. Our systems are designed to understand, predict, and control the real world with precision, turning complex physical operations into something more reliable, more scalable, and more productive.</p> <p>This work requires more than robotics. It requires deep integration across hardware, software, AI, operations, manufacturing, and real estate. We don’t just build machines in a lab. We deploy them into real environments, operate them, learn from them, and improve them until they work at scale.</p> <p>We are roboticists, engineers, operators, and builders. We believe the next great technology companies will not only transform information, but the physical systems that shape everyday life.</p> <p>If you want to work on hard problems with real-world impact, join us.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What you’ll do</strong></p> <p>We are seeking a foundational Developer Experience Engineer to build scalable developer infrastructure powering our autonomous transport initiative. In this role, you will be the first dedicated engineer optimizing developer workflows across our large-scale C++, Python, Go, Rust and embedded firmware codebases. You will eliminate build friction, prevent dependency hell, and architect secure Over-The-Air (OTA) update mechanisms to safely deploy software to our edge vehicle fleet. By empowering our robotics, ML, and software teams with high-speed, reliable tooling, you will directly accelerate the delivery of safe, on-road autonomous transportation. While you may not work on every single aspect of it, the team will own the following scope:</p> <ul> <li><strong>CI/CD Infrastructure:</strong> Own the build pipelines for Transport's repos: large, multi-language (C++, Python, firmware). Make them fast enough that engineers stop context-switching while they wait.</li> <li><strong>Build System Optimization:</strong> Cut build times and make builds reproducible. Bazel or similar; you'll own the build graph, caching, and dependency management.</li> <li><strong>Firmware &amp; Embedded Integration:</strong> Automate building and testing embedded firmware and the vehicle OS (e.g., Balena).</li> <li><strong>Over-The-Air (OTA) Deployment:</strong> Design and build over-the-air updates for vehicles in the field: staged rollouts, redundancy, and rollback that always works.</li> <li><strong>Repository Architecture:</strong> Decide how code is organized (monorepo vs. multi-repo), how artifacts are versioned and stored, and how dependencies are tracked, in a way that still holds up when the team is many times bigger.</li> <li><strong>Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Automation:</strong> Wire HIL rigs and simulation into release validation so regressions are caught before code ever reaches a vehicle.</li> <li><strong>Developer Observability &amp; Tooling:</strong> Track build health, test flakiness, and time-to-deploy. Instill a data-informed culture, so the numbers are visible and the problems actually get fixed.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What we’re looking for</strong></p> <ul> <li>8+ years of professional experience in Developer Experience, Build Engineering, or Infrastructure, specifically supporting large-scale engineering organizations.</li> <li>Strong programming proficiency in Python, C++, Go, or similar, with deep knowledge of modern build systems and package managers (e.g., Bazel, CMake, UV).</li> <li>Hands-on experience scaling CI/CD systems, monorepo architectures, and automated testing pipelines for complex codebases.</li> <li>Familiarity with embedded systems, firmware builds, or containerized IoT operating systems (such as Balena Linux or Yocto).</li> <li>Foundational understanding of designing secure, fail-safe Over-The-Air (OTA) deployment pipelines for edge hardware or robotics.</li> <li>Proven ability to reduce build/test cycle times, eliminate flaky tests, and untangle complex dependency graphs.</li> <li>Exceptional communication skills and a passion for acting as an empathetic force multiplier for cross-functional software, hardware, and robotics teams.</li> </ul> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Why join us</strong></p> <p>At Atoms, you’ll work on one of the defining challenges of our time — bringing automation into the physical world to drive real, lasting impact. We exist to uncover valuable unknown truths and turn them into progress, which means constantly pushing beyond what’s known and building what doesn’t yet exist. The work is ambitious and often challenging, but it’s grounded in a shared sense of purpose and a team committed to seeing it through together. Our work only matters if it serves others, and we know that meaningful progress depends on the trust of the people we serve and the strength of our team — so we invest in both, creating an environment where you can do your best work and grow.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What else you need to know</strong></p> <p>This role is based in our San Francisco office. Atoms is a company driven by invention and continuous change - we are constantly reimagining our industries, building new products, and refining how we operate. We do our best work together. That’s why all of our office-based teams work onsite, five days a week.</p> <p>The base salary range for this role is <strong>$224,000 - $275,000 per year.</strong></p> <p>Actual compensation will be determined on an individual basis and may vary depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.</p> <p>Base salary is just one part o