Lead software engineer

why this role matters

As Lead Software Engineer at coera Robotics, you will work directly alongside the CTO to shape and build our core safety intelligence platform, enabling humans and robots to work safely together. You will take end-to-end technical ownership, from software architecture and hands-on C++ development to delivering our first certified release. Along the way, you will establish the engineering foundations, tools, and practices that will support our growing team and turn complex safety requirements into reliable, production-ready software.

what you will own

• Lead the architecture, design, and hands-on development of coera's core safety intelligence platform, from runtime through integration and tooling.
• Write and review production-quality C++ code, solve complex technical challenges, and establish high engineering standards.
• Drive software delivery towards our first certifiable release and customer deployment, working against functional safety requirements (SIL 2 / PL d). Build and continuously
• improve the engineering toolchain, including testing, CI, simulation, and validation practices.
• Collaborate closely with functional safety specialists, embedded systems engineers, and external partners to translate certification requirements into practical engineering solutions.
• Own technical priorities, make informed trade-offs, and keep development aligned with critical product and certification milestones.
• Help shape the growing engineering team through technical guidance, knowledge sharing, and participation in hiring.

what we look for

Must have

• Strong professional experience developing and shipping production software in modern C++.
• Deep understanding of embedded systems, real-time constraints, and software architecture.
• Experience working with sensor-based, perception, robotics, or similarly complex systems.
• Proven ability to take end-to-end technical ownership, from architecture through implementation and delivery.Hands-on technical leadership, including code reviews, technical decision-making, and guiding other engineers.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment, challenge assumptions constructively, and deliver against demanding timelines.

Preferable skills

• Experience with functional safety standards, certification processes, or safety-critical software.
• Familiarity with MISRA, AUTOSAR, static analysis, and verification tools.
• Experience with QNX, embedded Linux, PREEMPT_RT, or other real-time operating systems.
• Sensor fusion, computer vision, calibration, and perception systems.
• Experience building engineering infrastructure, CI, simulation, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.Previous experience in robotics, autonomous systems, or early-stage deep-tech companies.

Bonus

• Open-source contributions that other engineers actually use

what we offer

Join coera at a defining stage, where your technical decisions will directly shape the product, its architecture, and the engineering team that grows around it. You'll work closely with the founders, have genuine ownership of critical technology, and see your work progress from development through certification to real-world deployment with robotics partners.

how we work

Small, senior, deliberate. We write more than we meet, challenge ideas openly, and focus on building what matters. We value engineers who take ownership, make sound technical decisions, and are comfortable navigating ambiguity. We care about engineering quality, but we're equally committed to pragmatic solutions and getting things done.

process and small print

Berlin · On-site l Full-time l €100,000–€120,000 gross annually + equity participation

Location
This is a full-time, on-site role based in Berlin. We're a small team building complex, safety-critical technology, and we believe working closely together makes a real difference at this stage. Being in the same room helps us solve problems faster, exchange ideas, and make important technical decisions together.

Our hiring process
We aim to keep our process thoughtful, transparent, and focused on getting to know each other. It includes an introductory conversation, a technical interview, a take-home assignment followed by a presentation and discussion, and a final conversation with the founders.

Visa & relocation
Not based in Berlin yet? We'd still love to hear from you. For the right candidate, we're open to discussing visa sponsorship and relocation support on an individual basis.

About us

coera is building the universal safety intelligence layer for human-robot coexistence, redefining what safety means in the age of physical AI. Robotics is advancing faster than the safety systems meant to support it. coera closes that gap with multimodal sensing and deterministic guardrails: retrofittable, embeddable, controller-agnostic. Safety is not a checkpoint or a constraint. It is the capability that lets intelligent machines operate freely wherever people do.

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