Robotics Middleware Engineer

ALTEN Technology USA; Woburn (MA); On-site; USD 130,000 - 165,000; Full time

Job summary

ALTEN Technology USA is seeking a Senior Robotics Middleware Engineer to evaluate, prototype, and optimize next-generation communication middleware for advanced robotic systems. The role focuses on ROS 2 middleware, DDS internals, and zero-copy messaging on NVIDIA Jetson-class platforms, with benchmarking-driven decisions.

The ideal candidate will lead build-versus-adopt analyses for Zenoh, integrate as an ROS 2 RMW layer, and collaborate across robotics and software teams to deploy scalable

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• Deep hands-on experience with ROS 2 middleware architecture, RMW implementations, DDS internals and transport mechanisms.
• Experience with Zenoh or comparable publish/subscribe frameworks such as eCAL, iceoryx, Cyclone DDS, Fast DDS.

Responsibilities

• Evaluate and prototype Zenoh integration as an ROS 2 RMW layer with quantitative benchmarking.
• Design zero-copy and shared-memory messaging on NVIDIA Jetson-based platforms to maximize throughput.
• Analyze and optimize messaging pipelines through memory layout and resource utilization improvements.
• Develop benchmarking frameworks to measure throughput and overall system performance.
• Collaborate with robotics, software, and systems teams; document findings and best practices.

Skills

ROS 2 middleware architecture

RMW implementations

DDS internals

Zenoh

C++ development

Shared-memory IPC

Zero-copy messaging

Profiling and benchmarking

Embedded Linux

Jetson platforms

Real-time OS

Education

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in CS/Robotics/EE

Tools

eCAL

iceoryx

Cyclone DDS

Fast DDS

Job description

We’re ALTEN Technology USA, an engineering company helping clients bring groundbreaking ideas to life—from advancing space exploration and life-saving medical devices to building autonomous electric vehicles. With 3,000+ experts across North America, we partner with leading companies in aerospace, medical devices, robotics, automotive, commercial vehicles, EVs, rail, and more.

As part of the global ALTEN Group—57,000+ engineers in 30 countries—we deliver across the entire product development cycle, from consulting to full project outsourcing.

When you join ALTEN Technology USA, you’ll collaborate on some of the world’s toughest engineering challenges, supported by mentorship, career growth opportunities, and comprehensive benefits. We take pride in fostering a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and inspired to grow.

As a Sr. Robotics Middleware Engineer you will be responsible for;

We are seeking a Senior Robotics Middleware Engineer to evaluate, prototype, and optimize next-generation communication middleware for advanced robotic systems. This role will focus on assessing emerging robotics transport technologies, including Zenoh, and improving high-throughput, low-latency messaging architectures on NVIDIA Jetson-class embedded platforms. The ideal candidate will bring deep expertise in ROS 2 middleware, DDS internals, shared-memory communication, and performance optimization for embedded Linux environments.

Lead a comprehensive build-versus-adopt evaluation of Zenoh as a robotics communication transport, including:

• Integration as an RMW (ROS Middleware) layer within ROS 2
• Technical recommendations supported by quantitative benchmarking and analysis

Design, implement, and optimizezero-copy and shared-memory messaging architectures to maximize communication performance on NVIDIA Jetson platforms.

Analyze and improve messaging pipelines through:

• Memory layout optimization
• Resource utilization optimization

Develop and execute benchmarking frameworks to measure:

• Throughput
• Overall system performance versus existing communication architectures

Collaborate with robotics, software, and systems engineering teams to identify and implement scalable middleware solutions for production robotic applications.

Document findings, benchmark results, architectural recommendations, and implementation best practices.

Qualifications;

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related technical field, or equivalent practical experience.

Deep hands-on experience with:

• ROS 2 middleware architecture
• RMW implementations
• DDS internals and transport mechanisms

Experience with Zenoh or comparable publish/subscribe communication frameworks, including:

• eCAL
• iceoryx
• Cyclone DDS
• Fast DDS
• Strong proficiency in modern C++ development.

Extensive knowledge of:

• Shared-memory inter-process communication (IPC)
• Zero-copy messaging techniques
• Experience profiling and optimizing software performance on embedded Linux and ARM-based platforms.
• Strong analytical and benchmarking skills with a data-driven approach to architectural decision-making.

Preferred Qualifications;

• Experience developing and optimizing applications on NVIDIA Jetson platforms.
• Understanding of GPU/CUDA memory management and GPU-aware communication strategies.
• Experience with real-time operating systems and low-latency robotics applications.
• Background in autonomous systems, robotics platforms, or edge computing environments.

Salary Range: $130K-$165K

The actual salary offered is dependent on various factors including, but not limited to, location, the candidate’s combination of job-related knowledge, qualifications, skills, education, training, and experience.

Note:

This is an ON-SITE position. The individual can sit either in North Reading, MA or Woburn, MA.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, age, genetic information, or pregnancy.

Compliance Notice:

Alten USA is a federal contractor subject to the requirements of the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA) and Executive Order 11246. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or veteran status.

Drug Screening Requirement:

As a federal contractor, Alten USA maintains a drug-free workplace. All candidates selected for employment will be required to successfully complete a pre-employment drug screening as a condition of hire.