Robotics Software Engineer Co-op
Chewy
Job Description:
Co-op Opportunity
Looking for a PAWsome co-op opportunity? Join us as a Robotics Software Engineer Co-op in our state-of-the-art Robotics Lab in Woburn, MA! You’ll be part of a team advancing the frontier of Physical AI, by building and testing robotic capabilities designed for real-world warehouse environments. Our group focuses on developing scalable robotics systems, from perception and control to autonomy and human-robot interaction, that enable humanoids and other robots to take on increasingly complex fulfillment tasks. As a member of this team, you will help operate Chewy’s Physical AI “data factory,” generating the tactile, visual, and motion data that train embodied AI models and support the orchestration of future humanoid fleets in Chewy fulfillment centers.
Co-op Timeframe: June 8, 2026 – December 11, 2026
Qualified Students: Rising Seniors graduating in Spring 2027
What You’ll Do
Learn from senior engineers and research scientists while working hands-on with humanoid and other robotic platforms in Chewy’s Robotics Lab, a warehouse-realistic environment that replicates key fulfillment workflows such as picking, packing, and truck loading.
Assist in teleoperating robots to collect high-quality datasets, including interactions with large, heavy, deformable objects, used to train, fine-tune, and evaluate autonomous control policies and other embodied AI systems.
Support the design, refinement, and execution of experiments that assess robotic performance, model generalization, and real-world robustness, including multi-hour trials under realistic operating conditions.
Help run and monitor long-duration data collection and observation experiments, ensuring data continuity, integrity, and high-quality annotations across tactile, visual, and motion signals.
Contribute to extending and improving data pipelines for robotics and embodied AI research, and learn how to develop new pipelines to enhance scalability and throughput.
Collaborate with senior engineers and scientists at the cutting edge of physical AI, assisting in the development and evaluation of robotic capabilities for manipulating large, heavy, and deformable objects in both simulation and the real world.
Work with the team at the simulation-to-real (sim-to-real) boundary, helping quantify performance gaps between sim and reality and exploring methods to reduce them.
Support the preparation of internal reports, demos, and (when appropriate) open datasets or publications that document experimental results and influence the broader robotics community.
What You’ll Need
Enrollment as a full-time student in a Bachelor’s program in Robotics, Engineering, Computer Science, or a related field, with an anticipated graduation date of Spring 2027.
Foundational experience or coursework involving robotics, embedded systems, or industrial automation (hands-on lab or project experience preferred).
Ability to program in Python, C++, Java, C#, or a similar language, with a willingness to learn new tools and frameworks.
Curiosity and motivation to learn from senior engineers working on Physical AI, embodied robotics, and large-scale automation systems.
Current permanent U.S. work authorization required.
Ability to work 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday during the co-op term.
Bonus
Exposure to or interest in machine learning, especially model training, fine-tuning, or evaluation.
Experience with computer vision, robot perception, or autonomous systems projects (academic or hobby projects count!).
Familiarity with simulation tools or robotics frameworks (e.g., ROS, Gazebo, Isaac Sim, PyBullet).
Strong organization, communication, and technical writing skills, including the ability to clearly describe experimental setups, results, and lessons learned.
#LI-DNI
The hourly rate for this role is $32.00.
The specific salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including but not limited to the candidate's relevant experience, education, and work location. In addition, this position is eligible for 401k and a new hire and annual equity grant. C08+ positions may also be eligible for annual bonus.
We offer different types of insurance and benefits, such as medical/Rx, vision, dental, life, disability, hospital indemnity, critical illness, and accident. We offer parental leave, family services benefits, backup dependent care, flexible spending accounts, telemedicine, pet adoption reimbursement, employee assistance program, and many discounts including 10% off pet insurance and 20% off at Chewy.com.
Exempt salary team members have unlimited PTO, subject to manager approval. Team members will receive six paid holidays per year. Team members may be eligible for paid sick and family leave in compliance with applicable state and local regulations.
Chewy is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, gender, citizenship, marital status, religion, age, disability, gender identity, results of genetic testing, veteran status, as well as any other legally-protected characteristic. If you have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act or similar law, and you need an accommodation during the application process or to perform these job requirements, or if you need a religious accommodation, please contact CAAR@chewy.com.
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