Senior Autonomous Systems Software Engineer

Forterra; Palo Alto (CA); On-site; USD 155,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Premium Healthcare Benefits

3 weeks PTO?

Parental leave

Tuition reimbursement

401(k) match

Job summary

Forterra is seeking a software engineer to design, develop, and optimize C++ and Python components for distributed robotic platforms. You will work on middleware, data logging, and diagnostic subsystems, translating requirements into reliable, maintainable code and ensuring safety, reliability, and security across mission-critical systems.

Ideal candidates have strong multi-threading skills, experience with ROS/DDS/Protobuf/gRPC, and a track record of scalable API design. Eligibility for a U.S.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in Linux-based environments.
• Hands-on experience with middleware frameworks and communication protocols (e.g., ROS, DDS, Protobuf, gRPC).
• Ability to write clean, maintainable, and well-documented code.
• Strong understanding of multi-threaded programming, concurrency, and performance optimization.
• Proven ability to design scalable systems and develop clean, intuitive APIs.
• Eligibility to obtain a U.S. Secret security clearance.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and optimize C++ and Python components supporting middleware, configuration management, data logging, and diagnostic subsystems in distributed robotic platforms.
• Translate high-level concepts and system requirements into reliable, maintainable software implementations.
• Analyze and validate software for safety, reliability, maintainability, testability, and system security across complex, mission-critical systems.
• Debug and triage real-world communication and networking challenges from deployed autonomous ground systems.
• Implement and maintain robust unit, integration, and system-level tests to ensure stability and performance.
• Profile, troubleshoot, and optimize software performance across multiple hardware and networked subsystems.
• Contribute to the evolution of our architecture, shaping how autonomous platforms communicate, share data, and operate in constrained environments.

Skills

Linux

Multithreaded programming

APIs design

C++

Python

Code quality

Security clearance eligibility

Tools

ROS

DDS

Protobuf

gRPC

Job description

Forterra is seeking a software engineer to design, develop, and optimize C++ and Python components for distributed robotic platforms. You will work on middleware, data logging, and diagnostic subsystems, translating requirements into reliable, maintainable code and ensuring safety, reliability, and security across mission-critical systems.

Ideal candidates have strong multi-threading skills, experience with ROS/DDS/Protobuf/gRPC, and a track record of scalable API design. Eligibility for a U.S.