Job Title: Sr ROS Software Developer
Location: Sunnyvale, CA
Job Description:
We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer contractor to develop robotics platform software on NVIDIA Jetson (Linux/ROS2) for a manipulation system integrating custom grippers, sensors, and actuator subsystems. You will write ROS2 nodes, develop host-side SDKs interfacing with embedded hardware over Ethernet and EtherCAT, integrate sensor pipelines (cameras, depth, tactile, IMU), and deploy perception/control algorithms into the real-time platform. The work is hands-on, systems-level C++/Python on Ubuntu with PREEMPT_RT, JetPack, and Docker.
Key Responsibilities-
Develop and maintain ROS2 nodes for gripper command/state, sensor streaming (cameras, IMU, dToF, tactile), and device management (DFU, discovery, calibration)
Develop and integrate host-side SDKs that interface with embedded MCU subsystems over Ethernet and EtherCAT wrapping vendor C/C++ libraries into ROS2-compatible drivers
Implement sensor integration pipelines on Jetson: camera frame acquisition and GPU-accelerated processing (CUDA de-Bayering), depth sensor post-processing (dToF zone point cloud), IMU streaming, tactile data decoding
Integrate control and perception algorithms developed by scientists into the real-time platform ensuring timing, data flow, and API contracts are met
Develop device management software: firmware update orchestration (DFU) across heterogeneous nodes (MCU, sensor modules, actuators), device discovery, health monitoring
Write and maintain integration tests validating end-to-end data paths from embedded hardware through ROS2 topics
Required Qualifications-
5+ years of software engineering experience, with significant work on embedded Linux / robotics platforms
Strong proficiency in C++ and Python on Linux (Ubuntu)
Hands-on experience with ROS2 writing nodes, custom message types, lifecycle management, launch files, parameter handling
Experience developing software on NVIDIA Jetson platforms (JetPack, CUDA basics, Docker containers)
Experience interfacing host software with embedded systems consuming C/C++ SDKs from hardware vendors, Ethernet/UDP communication with MCUs, serial protocols
Experience with sensor integration: cameras (V4L2, GStreamer, or vendor SDK), IMUs, depth sensors, or similar
Comfortable working at the hardware-software boundary reading protocol specs, validating data with Wireshark/logic analyzers, coordinating with firmware engineers
Experience with EtherCAT master libraries (IgH, SOEM) on Linux for real-time motor/actuator control
Preferred Qualifications-
Experience with CUDA kernels or GPU-accelerated image processing (de-Bayering, filtering, point cloud generation)
Experience with CycloneDDS or other DDS implementations and real-time ROS2 tuning (executor configuration, QoS, zero-copy transport)
Experience integrating manipulation/control algorithms (trajectory execution, position control loops, impedance control)
Familiarity with Cyphal/DroneCAN or other CAN-based protocols from the host side
Experience with Docker-based development and deployment workflows on embedded Linux
Experience with device firmware update orchestration across multiple heterogeneous targets
Familiarity with PREEMPT_RT Linux configuration, CPU isolation, and real-time scheduling
Experience with Yocto/OE or custom BSP builds for Jetson
Experience with calibration systems (camera intrinsics/extrinsics, hand-eye calibration)
