C++ Embedded Software Engineer
Industrial Robotics Platform Migration | Contract Engagement | Boston, MA / Seattle WA (Hybrid - 3 days/week on-site minimum) | Immediate Start
About the Opportunity
We are hiring a C++ Embedded Software Engineer to join the next-generation platform team at one of the world's leading e-commerce and logistics companies. The role is part of a strategic effort to rewrite a mature industrial control application from a legacy controls platform into a modern, scalable C++ stack - supporting the scaling of an industrial robotic workcell fleet from approximately 1,000 deployed machines today to 5,000-6,000 machines by 2027.
This is a contract engagement with strong likelihood of extension. You'll be working alongside an existing team of engineers driving the migration, with day-to-day technical autonomy and direct impact on the architecture that will run thousands of machines globally.
Program Context
The product is a Transfer Cartesian Cell (TCC) - an 8-axis, servo-driven Cartesian pick-and-place workcell that integrates with mobile floor robots inside fulfillment centers. The machines retrieve totes from mobile robot pods and place them onto conveyance systems for downstream handling.
The current control application runs on CODESYS - an IEC 61131-3 industrial controls platform - within an industrial PC (IPC) ecosystem on Linux. The existing architecture works, but doesn't scale cleanly to the next deployment volume. The team is rewriting the application in C++ on a new internal platform that replaces the legacy Sprocket infrastructure with a modern, more general-purpose software stack.
Your role is on the C++ migration side - building the new application that will eventually replace CODESYS as the production control layer.
What You'll Be Doing
C++ Application Development
- Build the new C++ control application that will replace the legacy CODESYS implementation
- Develop embedded software running on Linux-based industrial PCs in production fulfillment environments
- Design modular, testable, scalable software with proper unit-test coverage - solving the scaling problem that the legacy platform couldn't
- Implement control logic, motion orchestration, device interfaces, and system-level behavior
Migration from CODESYS
- Read and interpret the existing CODESYS application as the source of truth for the rewrite
- Ensure functional parity between legacy CODESYS behavior and the new C++ implementation
- Debug migration issues that require understanding both the legacy and new stacks
Testing, Hardening, and Deployment
- Build automated test infrastructure to validate behavior at scale - a key motivation for the migration
- Test on real hardware in the Boston lab - servos, drives, sensors, motion components
- Harden the codebase through iterative testing, code reviews, and production-readiness validation
- Support initial deployments and validate behavior in field conditions
Cross-Team Collaboration
- Coordinate with the CODESYS sustainment team to align on what features and behaviors must be preserved
- Engineers may flex between the migration team and the CODESYS sustainment team based on workload - versatility is valuable
- Work with hardware, deployment, and operations stakeholders to ensure the new platform meets production requirements
Required Skills and Experience
- Strong C++ embedded development experience - real-time, embedded, or industrial control environments
- Hands-on Linux experience - system-level work, debugging, deployment, embedded Linux
- Software engineering discipline - Git, code reviews, structured unit testing, CI/CD
- Comfortable working with real hardware in a lab - servos, drives, sensors, fieldbus, motion systems
- Strong debugging skills across embedded, application, and system layers
- Ability to read and interpret legacy code in unfamiliar languages or platforms - willingness to engage with CODESYS code as a reference
- Willingness to work from the Boston office a minimum of 3 days per week - non-negotiable
Strongly Preferred
- Direct CODESYS exposure or work with IEC 61131-3 platforms - even basic familiarity is a significant plus
- Industrial controls or robotics background
- EtherCAT, MQTT, or industrial fieldbus protocol experience
- OTA / firmware update workflows; Yocto, BitBake, or similar embedded build systems
- Experience migrating legacy systems to modern software stacks
- Python or scripting for test automation, tooling, and diagnostics
- Prior work in motion control, servo systems, or multi-axis machine control
- Prior Amazon Robotics or fulfillment center automation exposure
The Unicorn Profile
The ideal candidate has both strong C++ embedded experience and meaningful CODESYS exposure. If you have both, you'll be a top candidate for the role and a critical bridge between the legacy and new stacks. If you have strong C++ and only light CODESYS context, you're still very much in the conversation - willingness to engage with CODESYS as a reference language is what matters.
Engagement Details
Location: Boston, MA / Seattle WA- hybrid, minimum 3 days per week on-site
Start: As soon as possible - phone screens happening now
Hours: Full-time; 40 hours/week
Who Thrives in This Role
You're a strong C++ engineer who's comfortable in embedded and Linux environments and excited about building software that runs real industrial hardware. You like working at the intersection of software engineering and physical machines. You're willing to learn from a legacy controls platform to inform a clean rewrite. You value bias for action - the team is looking for engineers who can move fast and deliver, not engineers who get bogged down in process. The fresh perspective you bring as an outside hire is genuinely valued by leadership.
GCS is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy.
