Piaggio Fast Forward is a leader in following technology, building robotic solutions designed to collaborate with people.
Arthur LaVita, Senior Director of Software Engineering, shares everything you need to know about their Engineering team!
In this Video
Arthur discusses:
Introduction to Piaggio Fast Forward
Piaggio Fast Forward is a Boston-based technology company that builds human-centric, collaborative robots designed to navigate and operate seamlessly in a dynamic human environment. The company prioritizes extensive human behavior studies before designing products and functionalities. Piaggio Fast Forward has a team of approximately 62 employees.
Piaggio Fast Forward Engineering Team Structure
Engineering makes up exactly half of the workforce at Piaggio Fast Forward, totaling about 31 engineers. This cross-functional engineering department is divided into several specialized disciplines:
- Mechanical engineering
- Electrical engineering
- Software Quality Assurance engineering
- Software engineering, which includes teams for firmware, cloud services, and mobile applications
- Robotics engineering, focusing on artificial intelligence, machine learning, and navigation algorithms
Piaggio Fast Forward Technology Stack
Engineers at Piaggio Fast Forward work with a diverse and modern technology stack. The primary tools and languages utilized across the engineering teams include:
- Programming Languages: C, C++, iOS, and Android native coding
- Platforms and Operating Systems: Linux, bare-metal platforms, and the Nvidia Jetson JetPack SDK
- Web and Mobile Frameworks: React and React Native
- Artificial Intelligence: Machine learning algorithms integrated directly on-robot to enable dynamic navigation, environmental adaptation, and safe-zone recognition
Key Projects at Piaggio Fast Forward
The engineering team works on various innovative robotic and sensor projects, including:
- Autonomous Factory Navigation: Designing robots that can transport end-of-line manufacturing products like motorcycles through active factory environments containing forklifts, pallets, and workers. The goal is to accomplish this without requiring customers to install expensive external infrastructure or sensors.
- Sensor Technology: Developing advanced radar sensors.
- Corporate Collaborations: Working on custom technology and robotic projects for major corporate partners, including Disney.
Piaggio Fast Forward Interview Process
The hiring process at Piaggio Fast Forward is designed to evaluate both cultural synergy and technical depth through a three-stage pipeline:
- Human Resources Screening: Candidates meet with the HR team to understand the day-to-day expectations of the role and get introduced to the company.
- Hiring Manager Interview: This conversation goes beyond the resume to understand a candidate’s personal interests, what they left off their resume, and how they would complement the diverse skills of the existing team. It is also designed to be a two-way street where candidates can ask detailed questions about the work environment.
- Technical Review: The final step is a deep dive into specific technical competencies and hands-on engineering capabilities.
Why Tech Job Seekers Should Choose Piaggio Fast Forward
Piaggio Fast Forward offers the unique advantages of a small-company environment backed by diverse, high-impact projects. Software and hardware engineers have the opportunity to work across multiple domains simultaneously, such as transitioning between radar development, autonomous robotics, and custom partner projects. This allows team members to step out of their comfort zones, rapidly acquire new technical skills, and work on evolving technologies.