Principal Software Engineer
- Applications are considered on a rolling basis
- Stockholm
- On-site
Role:
Principal Software Engineer – Platform Owner (Hands-on)
Context:
At Furhat Robotics we build social humanoid robots that talk, listen, and interact with people in the real world.
Our robots are already used by universities, research labs, hospitals, and innovation teams around the world to study and deploy human–AI interaction.
This isn’t a prototype or a pitch deck.
It’s a real, shipped product running globally.
Technically, it’s a rare mix of:
- hardware
- realtime systems
- SDKs
- cloud services
- AI/LLMs
- developer tools
We’re profitable and small (~20 people).
We’re not trying to build a big engineering organization.
We want one very strong engineer who can own the whole platform.
The role (plainly):
You will take full ownership of engineering.
Not manage it.
Not coordinate it.
Own it.
If something breaks, ships late, or feels messy — it’s yours to fix.
If things run smoothly — you did your job.
You’ll work directly with the CEO, our CSO (research), and our product manager.
We have two junior consultants today. You’ll lead them and decide how we build going forward.
What you’ll actually do:
Expect 80–90% hands-on coding/building/fixing.
This is not a management role.
You will:
- Own the robot platform (Java)
- Own the SDK (Kotlin)
- Own internal tools (React)
- Own APIs and backend services
- Own cloud & DevOps (AWS/Azure)
- Run CI/CD and releases
- Clean up legacy and simplify architecture
- Break roadmap into shipped features
- Guide/mentor junior engineers and consultants
- Hire very selectively when truly needed
When engineering is slow or fragile, you fix the system — not add headcount.
What success looks like:
After 6–12 months:
- Releases are predictable
- Shipping is faster
- Fewer fires
- Cleaner architecture
- Consultants need less babysitting
- Furhat engineering has momentum and continues to lead with software capabilities
Skills & Requirements
Who this is for:
You probably:
- Are excited about AI and robotics
- Are excited about building a reliable platform developers (specifically researchers) love to use
- Have been a founding engineer, principal engineer, or startup CTO before
- Have taken messy systems and made them reliable
- Like owning things end-to-end
- Prefer small teams over big orgs
- Are comfortable working independently
- Don’t need a lot of process or meetings
- Like coding more than managing
- Solve problems with automation and simplification, not hiring
- Communicate clearly and take initiative
You don’t need robotics experience.
Strong backend/platform experience is more important.
Who this is NOT for:
This will not be a good fit if you:
- Want to build or manage a large engineering org
- Prefer delegating over coding
- Need lots of structure or process to make progress
- Want a big team around you
- Like titles more than ownership
We intentionally keep the team small and senior.
Tech stack:
- Java (robot platform)
- Kotlin/Python (SDK)
- React (frontend)
- C++ (computer vision/audio)
- APIs / backend services
- AWS + Azure
- GitHub + CI/CD
- Linux based OS
- Some AI/LLM integrations
Practical details:
- Stockholm (onsite)
- Small team
- Direct access to founders
- Competitive Salary
- Meaningful equity
- Real ownership and autonomy
This role is closer to being a technical co-founder than a typical employee.
If this sounds exciting rather than scary, we should talk.
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About us:
Furhat Robotics builds social humanoid robots that interact with people face-to-face.
Our robots are already deployed in universities, research labs, hospitals, and innovation teams across Europe, the US, and Asia.
They’re used to:
- study human, AI interaction
- teach and train
- prototype AI assistants
- explore how people will work with embodied AI systems
This isn’t research code or a demo.
It’s a real hardware + software platform with paying customers, used daily around the world.
We’re a small (~20 people), profitable company focused on building a solid product, not chasing hypergrowth or headcount.
If you like working on something tangible and technically deep, robotics, realtime systems, SDKs, cloud, AI, this is that rare mix.
Great Place to Work
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Flexible hours
-
Competitive option package
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Paid vacation & parental leave
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Monthly workout grants
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Personal health insurance & life insurance
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Free beverages, snacks, team ginger shots
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Torsgatan 39, close to Sankt Eriksplan
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Breakfast
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Team building. Game nights, AWs, cook-offs etc.
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Easily accessible for commuters
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Work with a technology that will change the world
About the company
We are an artificial intelligence and social robotics startup with the vision to make interaction with technology truly human. Founded by four PhDs in social robotics at KTH, we are an ambitious, small team of scientists, engineers and entrepreneurs backed by prominent investors. Our robots are the most expressive and customizable social robots on the market, powered by a state-of-the-art multi-modal conversational platform and a developer suite used by 3rd party developers to build robot applications. We are now looking for high-achievers that share our passion, to join our ride.
Samer Al Moubayed, CEO | Contact Person
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