Software Engineer — Robotics & Data Infrastructure

About Northstar

Northstar is an early-stage robotics and physical-AI startup building systems for data collection, deployment monitoring, and human intervention.

We’re looking for a hands-on engineer to build and maintain the software, infrastructure, and equipment that keep our operations running. You’ll work directly with the founders and operations team across backend development, data pipelines, cameras, teleoperation, networking, and practical IT support.

What you’ll do

• Data uploads and cloud storage: Manage large video and sensor-data uploads to AWS S3, organize storage, verify transfers, recover failed uploads, and automate recurring workflows.
• Metadata, tagging, and filtering: Maintain recording metadata, support tagging and validation, and build tools to filter, review, organize, and package datasets.
• Data-labeling software: Maintain and improve annotation and review platforms, fix bugs, manage permissions, integrate APIs, and support labelers with imports, exports, and workflow issues.
• Computer vision pipelines: Run, debug, and improve video-processing pipelines for quality checks, motion analysis, hand detection, and other filtering tasks.
• Teleoperation software: Help set up, maintain, and debug the teleop stack, including camera streams, operator interfaces, device connections, session logging, and monitoring. Work with robotics engineers to troubleshoot integration and latency issues.
• Cameras and recording systems: Configure cameras and capture devices, troubleshoot recording failures, and support synchronization, data offloading, and reliable field collection.
• Networking and IT: Set up and troubleshoot workstations, Linux systems, Wi-Fi/LAN connections, remote access, storage devices, software installations, and user access.
• On-site technical support: Help deploy and test equipment at collection sites, assist operators, and resolve technical issues that interrupt recording or teleoperation.
• Backend and internal tools: Build and maintain APIs, databases, dashboards, background jobs, and monitoring tools.
• Reliability and documentation: Investigate incidents, implement lasting fixes, and write clear setup guides and troubleshooting procedures.This role combines software engineering with hands-on operations. On a given day, you might build an API, fix an annotation workflow, troubleshoot a camera connection, or get a stalled upload running again.

What we’re looking for

• Strong Python skills and evidence of building useful software.
• Familiarity with Linux, Git, REST APIs, and SQL databases.
• Practical experience with AWS/S3 or similar cloud infrastructure.
• Strong debugging skills and basic networking knowledge.
• Willingness to work directly with cameras, computers, and other hardware.
• Ability to work independently, learn unfamiliar systems, and take responsibility for getting things working.
• Comfort supporting on-site teams and handling practical IT tasks alongside development.Useful additional experience
• FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Docker, Redis, background workers, AWS EC2, OpenCV, FFmpeg, WebSockets, video streaming, annotation platforms, ROS/ROS2, or teleoperation systems. You don’t need experience with every technology listed.