Robotics Software Engineer (Controls & Perception)

Bring more to life. Are you ready to accelerate your potential and make a real difference within life sciences, diagnostics and biotechnology? At Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, one of Danaher’s 15+ operating companies, our work saves lives—and we’re all united by a shared commitment to innovate for tangible impact.  You’ll thrive in a culture of belonging where you and your unique viewpoint matter. And by harnessing Danaher’s system of continuous improvement, you help turn ideas into impact – innovating at the speed of life. At Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, we know time is the most critical facet in the laboratory today:  time to get life-saving therapies to patients faster; reclaiming time by automating tedious manual workflows; and saving time spent addressing erroneous or complex results. We are partners in time and accelerate answers to critical questions through the power of automation. We develop innovations for scientists by scientists, with many of our 3,300+ global colleagues coming from the laboratory. It’s all part of our time-tested approach to bringing meaningful innovations at the speed of life since 1935. And we’re just beginning. Working together, let’s put our time and talents together to advance human health for tomorrow. Learn about the Danaher Business System which makes everything possible. The Robotics Software Engineer (Controls & Perception) is responsible for developing software that enables laboratory automation systems to accurately sense, interpret, and interact with the physical world. This role designs and implements the control, perception, and real-time software capabilities that drive precise robotic motion, liquid handling, and autonomous instrument operation across our automation platform. This position reports to the Senior Manager, Software Engineering - Automation and is part of the R&D Software team located in San Jose, California and Indianapolis, Indiana. This role is remote and will require travel to San Jose, CA and Indianapolis, IN. In this role, you will have the opportunity to: Develop advanced control algorithms that enable precise robotic motion, liquid handling, and sample transport across our laboratory automation platform. Create real-time perception capabilities using sensor fusion, computer vision, and calibration techniques to help instruments accurately understand and respond to their environment. Improve the performance, reliability, and scalability of automation software through embedded optimization, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and modern CI/CD validation practices. Collaborate with cross-functional teams spanning mechanical, electrical, firmware, and AI engineering to design intelligent instrument behaviors from concept through verification. Advance autonomous laboratory operations by identifying failure modes, defining safe operating boundaries, and ensuring robust, dependable system performance in real world environments. The essential requirements of the job include: Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Robotics, Controls Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or a related technical field 7+ years of experience developing control, perception, or automation software for robotics, laboratory automation, or other physical systems Strong foundation in control systems engineering, including state estimation, Kalman filtering, optimal control, model predictive control (MPC), and their application to real world hardware Proficiency developing real time and embedded software in C++, with experience using Python for tooling, testing, performance profiling, and latency optimization Hands-on experience with perception technologies such as sensor fusion, SLAM, or real-time computer vision, along with hardware-in-the-loop testing and modern CI/CD practices for embedded or robotics systems. Travel, Motor Vehicle Record & Physical/Environment Requirements: Ability to travel up to 15% domestically and internationally It