Robotics R&D Engineer

IHMC; Pensacola (FL); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

IHMC is seeking a Robotics R&D Software Engineer to join the IHMC Robotics Team, working full-time on real-time planning, control, and interaction algorithms for humanoids, quadrupeds, exoskeletons, and multi-agent systems.

You will contribute to a large software stack spanning perception, planning, control, simulation, and logging, with opportunities to explore new ideas in a collaborative research environment in Pensacola, FL.

Qualifications

• B.S. in engineering with a software/controls focus.
• 2+ years of relevant robotics software experience.
• Proficiency in C/C++/Java.
• Knowledge of Linux-based robotics systems.
• Experience writing software for real hardware platforms.
• Familiarity with Git.
• Experience developing/maintaining robotics simulation, visualization, data-logging, or operator-interface software.
• Excellent communication and documentation skills.

Responsibilities

• Maintain and improve visualization tools, operator interfaces, and simulation tools for robot operation and debugging.
• Develop automated diagnostic tools for robotic platforms.
• Test and debug software in simulation environments and on hardware.
• Support and improve terrain and environment processing pipelines for locomotion and planning.
• Develop and maintain software across multiple robots and exoskeletons, ensuring reliable deployment.
• Design and implement perception, path and grasp planning, and manipulation algorithms, including RL policy training/deployment.
• Collaborate within a multidisciplinary team to build robust robotic platforms.

Skills

C/C++/Java

Linux robotics systems

Robotics software development

Documentation skills

Education

B.S. in engineering (software/controls)

M.S. in engineering (software/controls)

Tools

ROS2

MCAP

Git

CUDA

CI tools

Job description

IHMC is seeking a talented Robotics R&D Software Engineer to be part of the IHMC Robotics Team to tackle fundamental challenges in robotics on our humanoids, quadrupeds, exoskeletons, and multi-agent teams. In this role, you will work full time with the robotics team to design and support real time planning, control, and interaction algorithms to help make some of the most advanced legged robots in the world. As IHMC is first and foremost a research institute, you will have opportunities to gain experiences and try new things, both with a varied set of responsibilities and through functions like the IHMC lecture series and regular learning lunches.

The robotics team has been working on legged robots for the past 22 years and is a world leader in humanoid robots, with highlights including placing second in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, providing support for the NASA Space Robotics Challenge, and developing legged systems like the Alex humanoid and the Link exoskeleton. This history of development has resulted in a large, internally maintained software stack that ranges from algorithms performing perception to planning to control, as well as simulation, visualization, operator interfaces, and data logging tools. We currently have a number of ongoing projects supporting our humanoid and quadruped efforts, which seek to develop our robots into a semi-autonomous robot for exploration of urban structures, the outdoors, and shipboard environments, becoming some of the most dynamic, capable robots in the world.

Roles and responsibilities

• Maintain and improve visualization tools, operator interfaces, and simulation tools to support robot operation and debugging
• Develop automated diagnostic tools for identifying issues on robotic platforms
• Testing and debugging software in simulation environments and on hardware
• Support and improve terrain and environment processing pipelines used for locomotion and planning
• Develop and maintain software across a group of robots and exoskeletons spanning multiple hardware platforms, ensuring reliable deployment and operation.
• Design and implement robotics algorithms for perception, path and grasp planning, and manipulation, including training and deployment of reinforcement learning policies
• Working as part of a multidisciplinary team to make robust robotic platforms

Required Qualifications

• B.S. in engineering major, with a software or controls focus
• 2+ years of relevant experience
• Strong proficiency and proof of prior work in C, C++, Java, or similar language
• Knowledge of Linux-based robotics systems
• Experience writing software for real hardware platforms
• Familiarity with version control systems such as Git
• Experience developing, debugging, or maintaining robotics simulation, visualization, data-logging, or operator-interface software
• Good communication and documentation skills

Preferred Qualifications

• M.S. in an engineering major, with a software or controls focus
• Experience with real-time perception algorithms
• Experience with real-time control systems
• Experience with grasp planning, motion planning, path planning, trajectory optimization, or manipulation
• Knowledge of ROS2 and/or MCAP
• Knowledge of GPU programming
• Experience working with continuous integration (CI) tools
• Experience writing software using the Test Driven Development practices

Why work at IHMC?

The robotics lab has lots of opportunities to grow and take ownership of the software stack. You’ll be working closely with many different teams working on perception, locomotion, and manipulation. On a daily basis you will be exposed to real robot platforms as team members test their work. Eventually you will be testing your own features on the hardware platforms both inside the lab environment and out in the field as we progress towards mobile robot operation outside.

The robotics lab is an exciting place to work! We have researchers from all over the world, including England, Korea, India, Italy, France, and many different states within the US. Having so many minds crammed into one building makes for some interesting conversation, different points of view, and great opportunities to learn new things. At the lab every voice is heard and you will be able to voice your opinions in any meeting you attend.

Pensacola is a great place to live! The weather is (almost) always perfect for outdoor activities like sailing on the bay, volleyball on the white sand beaches, kayaking on Blackwater River, or camping right by the waves. The lab is located in Downtown Pensacola, surrounded by tasty restaurants, art museums, concert venues, farmers markets, and food trucks. You’ll love it here!

This is for a full-time, paid position in Pensacola, Florida. You must be authorized or able to gain authorization to work in the United States.

Location: Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC), Pensacola, Florida

IHMC is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or protected Veteran status.