Principal Robotics Engineer - Autonomy & Behavior @ TwentyFour Industries

What we’re looking for <div style="text-align:justify;">We are looking for a Principal Robotics Engineer to set the technical direction for how our robots make decisions. Today, much of that logic sits in handwritten C++. You will move it into behavior trees or a similar formal model, so that a reader can follow and test a flight from a file. You will also define how these models request flight skills from the autopilot, and you will make the stack reusable on a second robot. This is a technical authority role with no people to manage. You will join an autonomy team of five engineers, report to the Team Lead Autonomy, and work closely with our Principal Systems Engineer. We want a strong robotics generalist with deep C++ skills and real depth in at least one area: state estimation, motion planning, control, or perception.</div> The day-to-day <ul><li style="text-align:justify;"><span><span>Own the </span><span>behavior </span><span>layer</span><span>: design the </span><span>nodes</span><span>, the </span><span>ports</span><span>, and the </span><span>structure </span><span>that </span><span>makes</span><span> a </span><span>flight </span><span>readable</span><span> and </span><span>testable</span><span> as </span><span>data </span><span>rather </span><span>than</span><span> as code.</span></span></li><li style="text-align:justify;"><span><span>Move the </span><span>remaining </span><span>flight </span><span>authority</span><span> out of hand-</span><span>written </span><span>logic</span><span> and </span><span>into</span><span> the </span><span>tree</span><span>, and </span><span>prove </span><span>that</span><span> the </span><span>new </span><span>path </span><span>behaves</span><span> like the </span><span>old </span><span>one </span><span>before </span><span>we </span><span>delete</span><span> the </span><span>old </span><span>one</span><span>.</span></span></li><li style="text-align:justify;"><span><span>Define </span><span>how</span><span> the </span><span>companion </span><span>computer </span><span>asks</span><span> the </span><span>autopilot</span><span> for a </span><span>flight </span><span>skill</span><span>, and </span><span>how</span><span> it </span><span>reads</span><span> back </span><span>whether </span><span>that </span><span>skill </span><span>is </span><span>running</span><span>, </span><span>finished</span><span>, </span><span>or </span><span>refused</span><span>.</span></span></li><li style="text-align:justify;"><span><span>Draw the </span><span>line </span><span>between </span><span>what </span><span>is </span><span>shared </span><span>across </span><span>robots</span><span> and </span><span>what </span><span>each </span><span>robot </span><span>writes</span><span> for </span><span>itself</span><span>, so </span><span>that</span><span> a second </span><span>platform </span><span>reuses</span><span> the </span><span>stack </span><span>instead</span><span> of </span><span>forking</span><span> it.</span></span></li><li style="text-align:justify;"><span><span>Make </span><span>failures </span><span>legible</span><span>: a log and a trace </span><span>should </span><span>tell</span><span> a </span><span>reader </span><span>which</span><span> check </span><span>said </span><span>no</span><span>, and </span><span>why</span><span>.</span></span></li><li style="text-align:justify;"><span><span>Work </span><span>across</span><span> the </span><span>autonomy</span><span>, </span><span>perception</span><span>, </span><span>platform</span><span>, and </span><span>testing </span><span>teams</span><span>, </span><span>since</span><span> the </span><span>behavior </span><span>layer </span><span>touches</span><span> all of </span><span>them</span><span>.</span></span></li><li style="text-align:justify;"><span><span>Raise the </span><span>technical</span><span> bar: design </span><span>reviews</span><span>, code </span><span>reviews</span><span>, and the </span><span>written </span><span>arguments </span><span>that</span><span> go </span><span>with </span><span>them</span><span>.</span></span></li><li style="text-align:justify;"><span><span>Mentor </span><span>engineers</span><span>, </span><span>without </span><span>holding</span><span> a </span><span>management </span><span>line</span><span>.</span></span></li></ul> You should apply if you <ul><li><span><span>Have around 5 years or more of robotics software experience. Leadership experience is not required.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Have deep C++ expertise, and the judgment to design a system that other people will extend.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Have real experience with behavior trees, or with another explicit way of expressing robot behavior, and clear opinions about where that approach breaks.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Have a breadth of knowledge across robotics: state estimation, motion planning, control, or perception. Depth in at least one of them.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Have Experience </span><span>with</span><span>robots</span><span>that</span><span>run</span><span> in the </span><span>physical</span><span>world</span><span>, not </span><span>only</span><span> in </span><span>simulation</span><span>.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Possess the ability to take a design apart in a discussion and put it back together bette</span></span></li></ul> Nice to haves <ul><li><span><span>Experience </span><span>with</span><span> BehaviorTree.CPP </span><span>or</span><span> a </span><span>comparable</span><span>behavior</span><span>tree</span><span>library</span><span>, </span><span>including</span><span>tooling</span><span>around</span><span> it.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Experience </span><span>with</span><span> ROS 2, DDS, and the design </span><span>questions</span><span>that</span><span>come</span><span>with</span><span> a </span><span>distributed</span><span>robotics</span><span>system</span><span>.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Experience </span><span>with</span><span> PX4, </span><span>ArduPilot</span><span>, </span><span>or</span><span>MAVLink</span><span>, and </span><span>with</span><span> the </span><span>split</span><span> of </span><span>work</span><span>between</span><span> an </span><span>autopilot</span><span> and a </span><span>companion</span><span>computer</span><span>.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Experience </span><span>with</span><span>drones</span><span>or</span><span>other</span><span>aircraft</span><span>.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Experience </span><span>with</span><span>simulation</span><span>, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, </span><span>or</span><span>replay-based</span><span>testing</span><span>.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Experience </span><span>making</span><span> a </span><span>robotics</span><span>stack</span><span>work</span><span> for </span><span>more</span><span>than</span><span>one</span><span>platform</span><span>.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Open source </span><span>contributions</span><span> in </span><span>robotics</span><span>.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Strong </span><span>written</span><span>communication</span><span>. </span><span>We</span><span>write</span><span>our</span><span>arguments</span><span> down.</span></span></li><li><span><span>Strong </span><span>written</span><span> and spoken English. German </span><span>is</span><span> a plus.</span></span></li></ul> What we offer <div style="text-align:justify;"><strong style="border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:rgb(66,66,66);font-size:14px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Real impact &amp; ownership:</strong><span style="color:rgb(66,66,66);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline;"> Shape high-tech defense systems and take responsibility from day one </span></div><div style="text-align:justify;"><strong style="border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:rgb(66,66,66);font-size:14px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Mission-driven environment: </strong><span style="color:rgb(66,66,66);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline;">Work on technologies that matter for European security and sovereignty </span></div><div style="text-align:justify;"><strong style="border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:rgb(66,66,66);font-size:14px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Competitive package: </strong><span style="color:rgb(66,66,66);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline;">Competitive salary, EGYM Wellpass, corporate benefits, and equity options aligned with role and level </span></div><div style="text-align:justify;"><strong style="border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:rgb(66,66,66);font-size:14px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Deep tech environment:</strong><span style="color:rgb(66,66,66);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline;"> Get hands-on experience with cutting-edge drone technology and real operational use cases </span></div><div style="text-align:justify;"><strong style="border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:rgb(66,66,66);font-size:14px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Grow fast: </strong><span style="color:rgb(66,66,66);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline;">Steep learning curve for juniors, strategic influence and leadership opportunities for seniors </span></div><div style="text-align:justify;"><strong style="border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:rgb(66,66,66);font-size:14px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Startup mindset meets defence innovation:</strong><span style="color:rgb(66,66,66);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline;"> flat hierarchies, fast decisions, and space for your ideas. </span></div><div style="text-align:justify;"><strong style="border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:rgb(66,66,66);font-size:14px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Flexibility: </strong><span style="color:rgb(66,66,66);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline;">Flexible hours, remote options, and relocation support </span></div><div style="text-align:justify;"><strong style="border:0px solid rgb(229,231,235);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-weight:600;color:rgb(66,66,66);font-size:14px;font-style:normal;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);">Strong team: </strong><span style="color:rgb(66,66,66);font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif, Inter, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-style:normal;font-weight:400;text-transform:none;background-color:rgb(255,255,255);display:inline;">International, driven colleagues and a culture built on exchange, trust, and shared success</span></div>