Karen Orton

Karen Orton is an experienced robotics and software engineer with a diverse background in the field. Karen most recently served as a Senior Software Engineer at Symbotic, starting in 2023. Prior to that, they worked at IAM Robotics from 2019 to 2023, first as a Robotics Software Engineer and later as Principal Engineer, Robot Software.

Before their time at IAM Robotics, Karen gained valuable experience at Carnegie Mellon University as a Planetary Robotics Mobility Researcher from 2017 to 2022. In this role, they conducted tests on Mars rover wheels and contributed to the design of new compliant wheels for potential future missions.

Karen also has internships with prestigious organizations such as NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2018, where they built a Gazebo ROS Simulation for an autonomous indoor inspection robot. At NASA Ames Research Center in 2017, they designed and built a simulator for the Astrobee free-flying robot using the Gazebo framework and ROS.

Additionally, Karen has interned at Johnson Space Center in 2016, where they developed an autonomous demonstration for the Robonaut2 robot, and at Wolf Robotics in 2015, where they worked on the assembly floor constructing robotic welding solutions. Karen also gained experience as an intern at Lexidyne LLC in 2014, assisting with the design, research, and testing of dynamic models for various companies.

Overall, Karen Orton's work experience demonstrates their expertise in robotics, software engineering, and modeling, with a focus on autonomous systems and space exploration.

Karen Orton earned a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, where they studied from 2013 to 2017. Following that, they pursued a Master's degree in Robotics Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University from 2017 to 2019.