Robotics Software Engineer

About UCR

UCR (Under Control Robotics) builds multipurpose robots to support human workers in the world's toughest jobs—turning dangerous work from a necessity into a choice. Our work demands reliability, robustness, and readiness for the unexpected—on time, every time. We're assembling a mission-driven team focused on delivering real impact in heavy industry, from construction and mining to energy. If you're driven to build rugged, reliable products that solve real-world problems, we'd love to talk.

Position Overview

As a Robotics Software Engineer, you'll own the runtime frameworks and full-stack systems that power UCR's robotic platforms. From low-level communication and distributed execution to APIs, developer tools, and simulation environments, you'll deliver reliable, production-ready software that enables autonomy and robust deployment. You'll validate your work through both simulation and field testing, ensuring our robots are always ready for the unexpected.

Responsibilities

• Own the design and implementation of runtime frameworks for state management, execution, and lifecycle control
• Own full-stack robotics software spanning IPC layers, middleware, APIs, and UI/developer tools
• Develop and maintain simulation workflows with Isaac Sim, Gazebo, or Mujoco for integration and validation
• Create tooling for debugging, testing, diagnostics, and deployment of robotic software
• Integrate ROS 2 with distributed runtime systems and containerized workflows
• Write and maintain documentation to support both internal engineering teams and external developers
• Collaborate with hardware, autonomy, and test teams to deliver field-ready systems
• Debug, optimize, and validate runtime systems in both simulation and real-world deployments

Requirements

• 4+ years in robotics or distributed software development
• Strong proficiency in C++ (C++17+) and Python
• Solid understanding of ROS 2, lifecycle nodes, and DDS communication
• Experience building modular, distributed runtime or middleware systems
• Familiarity with containerized development (Docker, colcon, CI/CD pipelines)
• Proven experience building APIs, SDKs, or developer-facing tools
• Strong communication and collaboration skills across engineering teams

Nice to Have

• Experience with robotics simulation environments (Isaac Sim, Mujoco, Gazebo)
• Knowledge of behavior trees, system diagnostics, or safety frameworks
• Familiarity with orchestration tools (GitHub Actions, Jenkins, Kubernetes)
• Open-source contributions in ROS 2, robotics middleware, or developer tooling