Senior Applications Engineer

About the role

As the Senior Applications Engineer you will be the technical core of Rhoda AI’s European team, leading Proof‑of‑Principle, Proof‑of‑Concept and Robotics‑as‑a‑Service engagements from scoping to executive reporting. You will act as the primary bridge between European strategic partners and Rhoda’s Silicon Valley engineering organization, turning field feedback into product improvements and ensuring functional‑safety compliance across deployments.

Key responsibilities

• Own end‑to‑end POP, POC and RaaS projects: define requirements, design solutions, plan test programmes, execute system bring‑up, validate performance and produce technical reports.
• Decompose partner requirements into testable specifications and create hardware‑in‑the‑loop test setups for repeatable verification.
• Lead root‑cause analysis across hardware, firmware and software, design fault‑injection tests, conduct FMEAs and document mitigations.
• Ensure all European deployments meet functional‑safety standards (ISO 26262, IEC 61508, ISO 10218, EN ISO 13849) and EU regulatory requirements (CE marking, EU Machinery Regulation 2023/1230).
• Mentor junior application engineers, collaborate with HQ systems engineering, and translate technical outcomes into commercial milestones.

Required profile

• Degree in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics or related field.
• 8+ years of hands‑on experience in robotics software engineering, systems integration or field application engineering.
• Proven experience delivering real‑world robotic deployments and conducting cross‑layer RCA.
• Hands‑on experience with EU functional‑safety standards (ISO 26262 or IEC 61508 required).
• Fluent English and working‑level German; willingness to travel ~40% across Europe.

Required skills

• Python for test automation and data analysis.
• C and Rust for onboard software development.
• Sensor integration and calibration (cameras, LiDAR, IMU, depth sensors).
• Industrial communication protocols: EtherCAT, CAN (TwinCAT, CANalyzer/CANoe).
• Functional‑safety standards: ISO 26262, IEC 61508, ISO 10218, EN ISO 13849.
• ROS/ROS2, real‑time operating systems, embedded Linux.
• SolidWorks or OnShape CAD, 3D printing and precision machining.
• OPC UA, MATLAB/Simulink, requirements‑management tools (Jama, DOORS, Polarion).