Robotics Software Lead - Construction

HITT Contracting Inc; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 120,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonuses

Health insurance

401(k)

Job summary

HITT Contracting is seeking a Robotics Software Lead to set the technical direction for the robotics software stack and lead a team through design, development, testing, and deployment on active construction sites. You will own architecture decisions, drive automation, and coordinate with hardware, IT, and project teams.

The role requires a strong product mindset, hands-on engineering leadership, and experience delivering complex field robotics in real-world environments.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in robotics, computer science, software engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or related field, advanced degree preferred.
• 5+ years of robotics software development, including demonstrated experience leading software engineering teams that developed and deployed complex field robotics applications in real-world environments.
• Experience applying product management practices to define requirements, prioritize roadmaps and backlogs, plan releases, and incorporate end-user feedback.
• Proficiency in C++, Python, and Linux-based robotics development and system-level troubleshooting.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture and technical direction of the robotics software stack, including system interfaces, design standards, and technical review practices.
• Own the software infrastructure that supports development, simulation, automated testing, CI/CD, deployment, observability, data collection, and fleet support.
• Guide technical decisions across autonomy, perception, manipulation, operator interfaces, embedded compute, networking, simulation, and cloud-connected services.
• Lead efforts to integrate and extend third-party technologies via APIs, SDKs, middleware, and other software interfaces.
• Ensure software designs account for safety, cybersecurity, maintainability, degraded operating modes, and environmental constraints of active construction sites.
• Establish standards for AI-assisted and agentic software development, including human review, automated testing, evaluation, and guardrails.
• Remain a hands-on technical contributor including architecture reviews, code reviews, prototyping, system integration, and diagnosis of difficult cross-stack issues.
• Travel to active construction sites and participate directly in testing, deployment, and operational support.
• Team Leadership and Delivery Lead, manage and mentor a team of software engineers, setting clear expectations and supporting their development.
• Coordinate day-to-day R&D work by translating priorities into actionable plans, assigning ownership, tracking dependencies, and resolving blockers.
• Establish engineering plans, milestones, release criteria, and quality expectations for multiple concurrent robotics initiatives.
• Use product management practices to translate user needs, field observations, and business priorities into requirements, backlogs, experiments, and release plans.
• Promote disciplined software engineering practices, including documentation, version control, automated testing, CI/CD, configuration management, and reproducible environments.
• Support team growth through staffing, onboarding, feedback, and knowledge sharing.
• Partnerships and Cross-Functional Coordination Lead the technical delivery of co-development initiatives with technology partners and vendors.
• Evaluate third-party technologies and recommend build/buy/adapt/partner decisions based on fit, lifecycle cost, schedule, risk, and supportability.
• Coordinate software priorities with hardware engineering, field testing, project teams, operations, IT, cybersecurity, and other departments.
• Research and Development Roadmap Support the development of the R&D roadmap by identifying software capabilities, dependencies, risks, and validation plans.
• Plan and oversee structured testing in the lab and on active construction projects; use results to prioritize engineering work and guide decisions.

Skills

C++

Python

Linux

CI/CD

Robotics software

Leadership

APIs/SDKs

AI-assisted development

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in robotics/CS/engineering

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Git

Docker

ROS 2

Gazebo

NVIDIA Isaac Sim

Azure DevOps

React

GStreamer

Job description

Every day, our team members do amazing things in pursuit of our shared purpose to build trust with our clients, partners, subcontractors, and teammates. No matter your background, education, or career path, if you share our vision to create extraordinary experiences, you belong at HITT.

Robotics Software Lead - Construction Job Description

The Robotics Software Lead is responsible for setting the technical direction for HITT’s robotics software team and leading the development of systems designed for complex, dynamic, and unstructured construction jobsites. This role guides initiatives across the full development lifecycle, from proof-of-concept prototypes through scaled field deployment. As a hands-on, product-minded engineering leader, the Robotics Software Lead owns the software stack, manages and mentors engineers, coordinates strategic co-development partnerships, supports the robotics R&D development roadmap, and establishes the architecture, infrastructure, and engineering practices that empower the team to experiment quickly and scale successful solutions. This team member reports to the Robotics Lead and is part of HITT’s Robotics Team, which leads research and development, pilot programs, and full-time field deployments. The Robotics Team’s mission is to support our project teams, transform our industry, and bring robots to every jobsite. The ideal candidate has led software teams that have developed and deployed complex robotics systems in demanding real-world environments. They are equally comfortable moving quickly to validate an early concept while applying the engineering discipline required to mature a prototype into a reliable, safe, and maintainable field system. They combine systems-level field robotics expertise with a product mindset, clear project leadership, and a practical understanding of the tradeoffs and dependencies among software, sensors, compute, networking, controls, mechanical hardware, and field operations.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Technical Leadership Own the architecture and technical direction of the robotics software stack, including system interfaces, design standards, and technical review practices.
• Own the software infrastructure that supports development, simulation, automated testing, continuous integration and delivery, deployment, observability, data collection, and fleet support.
• Guide technical decisions across autonomy, perception, manipulation, operator interfaces, embedded compute, networking, simulation, and cloud-connected services.
• Lead efforts to integrate and extend third-party technologies via APIs, SDKs, middleware, and other software interfaces.
• Ensure software designs account for safety, cybersecurity, maintainability, degraded operating modes, and the environmental constraints of active construction sites.
• Establish standards for AI-assisted and agentic software development, including human review, automated testing, evaluation, and appropriate technical guardrails.
• Remain a hands-on technical contributor including architecture reviews, code reviews, prototyping, system integration, and diagnosis of difficult cross-stack issues.
• Travel to active construction sites and participate directly in testing, deployment, and operational support.
• Team Leadership and Delivery Lead, manage, and mentor a team of software engineers, setting clear expectations and supporting their technical and professional development.
• Coordinate day-to-day R&D work by translating priorities into actionable plans, assigning ownership, tracking dependencies, and resolving blockers.
• Establish engineering plans, milestones, release criteria, and quality expectations for multiple concurrent robotics initiatives.
• Use product management practices to translate user needs, field observations, and business priorities into requirements, backlogs, experiments, and release plans.
• Promote disciplined software engineering practices, including documentation, version control, automated testing, CI/CD, configuration management, and reproducible development environments.
• Support team growth through thoughtful staffing, onboarding, feedback, and knowledge sharing.
• Partnerships and Cross-Functional Coordination Lead the technical delivery of co-development initiatives with technology partners and vendors, including defining scope, interfaces, milestones, risks, acceptance criteria, and ownership.
• Evaluate third-party technologies and recommend when HITT should build, buy, adapt, or partner based on technical fit, lifecycle cost, schedule, risk, and supportability.
• Coordinate software priorities and integration work with hardware engineering, field testing, project teams, operations, information technology, cybersecurity, and other departments.
• Research and Development Roadmap Support the development and execution of the R&D technical roadmap by identifying software capabilities, dependencies, resource needs, technical risks, and validation plans.
• Plan and oversee structured testing in the lab and on active construction projects, then use test results and operational feedback to prioritize engineering work and guide product decisions.
• Support deployed systems through remote and on-site troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and improvements to monitoring and support processes.
• Document architectures, interfaces, test results, deployment procedures, and lessons learned so solutions can be supported and scaled.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in robotics, computer science, software engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or related field, advanced degree preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in robotics software development, including demonstrated experience leading software engineering teams that developed and deployed complex field robotics applications in real-world environments.
• Experience applying product management practices to define requirements, prioritize roadmaps and backlogs, plan releases, and incorporate end-user feedback.
• Proficiency in C++, Python, and Linux-based robotics development and system-level troubleshooting.
• Experience applying modern software-engineering practices, including version control (e.g., Git), automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and containerization (e.g., Docker).
• Experience working with APIs/SDKs, open-source software packages, and technical standards to bring together disparate technology components into a reliable solution.
• Fluency with AI-assisted and agentic software development (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor).
• Experience leading external partners or vendors through co-development, integration, technical project management, and acceptance testing.
• Ability to communicate complex technical topics, decisions, risks, and plans clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience developing robotic systems for construction, manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, mining, defense, or other demanding real-world environments.
• Experience with mobile robot autonomy, perception, SLAM, navigation, manipulation, motion planning, controls, or teleoperation.
• Experience developing low-latency teleoperation systems that integrate real-time video, command, and telemetry streams, including graceful degradation amid intermittent connectivity.
• Experience integrating cameras, LiDAR, GNSS, IMUs, actuators, embedded computers, GPU-accelerated perception, and other robotic sensing and control hardware.
• Experience using robotics simulation environments (e.g., Gazebo, NVIDIA Isaac Sim, Unity) to train, test, and validate robotic systems using Real-to-Sim and Sim-to-Real pipelines.
• Experience developing robotic systems using Robot Operating System 2 (ROS 2) and comparable robotics middleware.
• Experience developing cloud-connected robotics software (e.g., Azure, Azure DevOps, AWS), web-based operator interfaces (e.g., React, JavaScript/TypeScript), and real-time video-streaming pipelines (e.g., GStreamer).

In accordance with Virginia Senate Bill 215 (SB 215), the base salary range for this position is: $120,000.00 - $175,000.00 Compensation in other cities and states may vary.

BENEFITS & COMPENSATION

HITT Contracting offers a competitive total benefits and compensation package including performance-based bonuses, premium health care coverage including vision and dental, employer-matched 401(k), wellness reimbursement program, paid holidays and time-off, and other voluntary benefits and leave types.

• performance-based bonuses
• premium health care coverage including vision and dental
• employer-matched 401(k)
• wellness reimbursement program
• paid holidays and time-offother voluntary benefits and leave types

HITT Contracting is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring and developing the most qualified individuals based on job-related experience, skills, and merit. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic. We value a respectful, inclusive workplace where everyone has the opportunity to succeed.

HITT Contracting maintains a drug-free workplace, consistent with applicable local, state, and federal laws.

Since 1937, HITT Contracting has grown to be one for the top 10 general contractors in the U.S. with 16 offices nationwide. We continue to expand across the country, leading us to new locations and expanding into new work types. HITT has a workforce of more than 3,300 team members companywide, and we’re looking for driven candidates to join our team who want to grow with us and contribute to the company’s ongoing success.

HITT will never ask you for personal or financial information via email or text message as part of the recruiting process.