About ATDev and this role

At ATDev (Assistive Technology Development, Inc.) we are creating an ecosystem of mobility devices to enable independence for the elderly and disabled, no matter their level of physical ability. Over 15 million people require in-home care due to physical disabilities, and the need for home care is expected to double by 2040 as populations age. We are developing unique robotic mobility systems to meet that growing need.

Together with leading academic and industry partners, ATDev is creating RAMMP, the Robotic Assistive Mobility and Manipulation Platform, powered by ATOS (an open-source assistive technology operating system) and RAMMS (a high-fidelity digital twin and simulation environment). This platform is the foundation for future assistive mobility robots, advanced manipulation systems, and next-generation AI-enabled autonomy.

We are seeking a Principal Robotics Software Research Engineer to serve as the technical architect and research leader for ATDev's robotics software stack. This is a senior technical leadership role, above Senior and Staff engineering levels, responsible for defining software architecture, proposing and directing research programs, and guiding the technical execution of learning-enabled robotic systems across simulation, embedded platforms, and deployed products.

What you will do

Architect and evolve the end-to-end software systems for ATOS, RAMMS, and commercial robotic products.
Propose, lead, and direct multi-year research and development efforts in learning-enabled mobility and manipulation.
Act as a PI-level technical leader for internal, collaborative, and externally funded research projects.
Translate cutting-edge research into robust, safety-critical, deployable systems and products.
Mentor and guide Senior and Staff engineers who execute research and development initiatives.

Key responsibilities

System architecture and technical strategy

Define and own the software architecture for ATDev's commercial robotic mobility and manipulation products, for ATOS (distributed, safety-critical robotics middleware), and for RAMMS (high-fidelity simulation, digital twin, and hardware-in-the-loop platform).
Establish architectural principles for real-time and mixed-criticality systems, fault isolation and safety, simulation-to-real transfer, and scalable autonomy and learning pipelines.
Ensure architectural consistency across embedded devices, edge computers, cloud services, and mobile applications.

Research leadership and direction

Propose, define, and lead software-centric robotics research and development programs, including learning-enabled mobility and manipulation, shared autonomy and user intent modeling, perception and sensor fusion, and simulation-driven learning and evaluation.
Act as technical PI or co-PI on internal and external research efforts, including government-funded programs and academic collaborations.
Break high-level research and product goals into coherent technical roadmaps executed by Senior and Staff engineering leads.

Hands-on research and development

Personally conduct advanced research and development in areas of strategic importance.
Implement and validate algorithms from the research literature, including modern robot learning, perception and computer vision pipelines, and planning, coordination, and control systems.
Lead complex investigations where architectural decisions, algorithmic tradeoffs, and safety considerations intersect.

Simulation, evaluation, and real-world deployment

Oversee integration of learning-based systems into RAMMS for evaluation, benchmarking, and data generation.
Define evaluation frameworks and metrics for autonomy, safety, performance, and usability.
Guide translation of simulation-validated systems into real-world robotic hardware, with feedback loops between simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and deployed systems.

Technical leadership, mentorship, and collaboration

Provide technical direction and mentorship to Senior and Staff Robotics Software Engineers, and review system designs, research plans, and critical implementations.
Establish best practices for research software quality, testing, documentation, and reproducibility.
Collaborate with academic partners (CMU, Pitt, Northeastern, Cornell, Purdue, Vanderbilt) and industry partners (Nvidia, AWS, Kinova, LUCI), and communicate findings to engineers, scientists, leadership, and stakeholders.

About you

PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related field.
10+ years of experience in robotics software, research, or advanced engineering roles.
Prior experience acting as Principal Investigator (PI) or technical lead on software-centric projects.
Demonstrated expertise across real-time and embedded systems, robotics (mobility and/or manipulation), computer vision and perception, machine learning and learning-based control, and large-scale software architecture.
Expert-level proficiency in C, C++, and Python.
A strong track record of translating research into working systems (not just publications), ideally including successful product launches in regulated industries such as medical devices.
Excellent written and verbal communication, self-direction, and a collaborative, empathetic drive to build technology that improves quality of life for people with disabilities.

Breadth of technical experience (expected)

Real-time embedded platforms (FreeRTOS, RTOS-based systems, embedded Linux).
Embedded Linux for real-time robotics, including u-boot, PREEMPT_RT, and rootfs.
Distributed robotic systems and middleware.
Simulation and digital twin environments, and hardware-in-the-loop system validation.
Mobile and edge computing platforms, computer vision, and sensor fusion.
Learning-based robotics (reinforcement learning, imitation learning, hybrid approaches).
Safety-critical or medical device software (preferred), and bridging academic research with commercial product development.

Preferred experience (nice to have)

Leadership in open-source robotics or systems software.
Experience with assistive robotics, medical robotics, or human-centered robotics.
Prior involvement in ARPA, DARPA, NIH, or similar research programs.

Why join us

Work on a mission-driven project that dramatically improves independence and autonomy for people with disabilities.
Contribute to a groundbreaking open-source ecosystem for assistive robotics.
Collaborate with world-leading robotics research institutions and engineers.
Tackle hard problems spanning perception, learning, simulation, mobility, manipulation, and user-centered robotics.

This role defines how ATDev builds robotics software, today and a decade from now. If you are motivated by hard technical problems, system-level thinking, and real-world impact, this role offers the opportunity to lead at the highest technical level while directly improving quality of life for people with disabilities.

How to apply

Submit your application through our form. A resume and cover letter are required, and a portfolio or website is welcome. You can also email your cover letter, resume, and portfolio to apply@assistivetech.dev.

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