Lead Systems Integration / Robotics Engineer

About Overlay

Overlay is building the world’s first intelligent makeup robot—reimagining beauty application through robotics, perception, and design. As a venture-backed, pre-launch startup, we’re defining a new category of personal robotics at the intersection of self-expression and engineering. Our system operates directly on the human face, requiring an unprecedented level of precision, safety, and real-world robustness.

We’re a small, highly technical team working in person in Oakland—building something that does not yet exist, and making it real.

Why This Role Is Different

This is not a narrow robotics role, and it is not a pure software role.

You will own how the full robot comes together across motion, perception, sensing, calibration, safety logic, hardware interfaces, and real-world validation.

Overlay is moving from prototype toward manufacturable MVP. That means the hard problem is no longer just proving that individual subsystems can work. The hard problem is making the complete robot work repeatedly, safely, and predictably as a product.

You will be responsible for turning disconnected engineering progress into an integrated robot that can be built, tested, debugged, validated, and trusted.

What You’ll Do

• Own full-system integration and bring-up of Overlay’s robotic platform.
• Integrate motion, perception, sensing, calibration, safety logic, and hardware systems into a reliable MVP robot.
• Drive robot-level execution and ensure the system works as a complete product,
• Build and improve perception-to-action flows that enable precise, responsive, and safe robot behavior.
• Develop calibration and bring-up workflows for accuracy, repeatability, and product readiness.
• Lead cross-team debugging across robotics, mechanical, software, perception, hardware, and manufacturing.
• Define system-level validation plans, acceptance criteria, test procedures, and release gates.
• Work closely with external partners to support build readiness, manufacturing feedback, and issue closure.
• Partner with the perception lead on sensing feedback, safety integration, and real-time execution.
• Partner with mechanical and hardware engineers on subsystem integration, robustness, serviceability, and robot-level validation.
• Architect and validate safety layers, fault detection, interlocks, and failure-response behavior for human-facing operation.
• Translate ambiguous system failures into clear reproduction steps, owners, root causes, fixes, and closure criteria.
• Create practical tools, logs, test scripts, and procedures that make robot bring-up and debugging faster.
• Contribute to core robotics architecture and product-level engineering decisions.
• Embody our values of ownership, velocity, and craft.

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of experience in robotics, systems integration, controls, automation, or complex electromechanical systems.
• Hands-on experience bringing up physical robots or hardware systems in the real world.
• Strong understanding of motion control, calibration, sensors, actuators, real-time behavior, and system validation.
• Experience integrating perception, motion, hardware, and safety-critical behavior.
• Comfort debugging across hardware and software boundaries.
• Strong coding ability in Python, C++, or similar languages.
• Experience with ROS2 or similar robotics frameworks.
• Strong engineering judgment — able to make practical tradeoffs under constraints.
• Experience defining test plans, acceptance criteria, validation workflows, or release gates.
• Ability to drive alignment across internal engineers, external partners, and manufacturing stakeholders.
• Clear communicator who can turn messy technical ambiguity into structured execution.
• Energized by working in person with a small, fast-moving team

Bonus Points

• Experience with robot calibration, gantry systems, CNC, 3D printers, lab automation, industrial automation, or precision motion systems.
• Experience working with contract manufacturers, factory bring-up, or pilot builds.
• Background in safety systems, interlocks, fault detection, or human-facing robotics.
• Experience shipping robotics or complex hardware products to real users.
• Experience building internal tools for logging, calibration, validation, or robot bring-up.
• Strong ability to debug messy real-world systems with incomplete information.

Benefits

• Highly competitive salary & generous early-stage equity
• Best-in-class medical, dental & vision insurance
• 401(k) matching program
• Flexible Time Off with 10 paid holidays
• Commuter benefits
• Office in downtown Oakland near 19th Street BART station

The Team

• Small, fast-moving team with high ownership and low process
• Strong bias toward shipping, learning, and iterating quickly
• In-person collaboration in our Oakland office

Culture & Values

1. Move Fast, Move Smart: Act quickly, but with clear thinking and good judgment.
2. Extreme Ownership: Own outcomes fully from idea to execution to results.
3. Disagree Boldly, Then Commit Fully: Challenge ideas openly, then align and execute without hesitation.
4. Intellectual Honesty Above All: Prioritize truth over ego. Be candid, admit mistakes, and follow the evidence.
5. Live Demos: Show real, working results instead of talking about ideas.

**Compensation:**The annual salary range for this position is $190,000–$260,000 annually based on level in addition to equity & benefits.