Senior Robotics Engineer

Senior Robotics Engineer – ROS 2 Migration & Systems (C++)

Department:

R&D Engineering

Location:

Noida (On-Site)

Company:

Octobotics Tech Pvt. Ltd.

About Octobotics

Octobotics develops autonomous industrial mobile robots designed to operate in complex, unstructured industrial environments such as tanks, pipelines, and heavy infrastructure facilities.

As we scale from MVP to production-grade systems, we are migrating our robotics architecture from ROS 1 (Noetic) to a fully native ROS 2 (Humble/Iron) ecosystem to enable real-time performance, scalability, and reliability.

Role Overview

We are seeking a Senior Robotics Engineer to lead the migration of our core autonomy stack from ROS 1 to ROS 2.

This is a systems-level, architecture-focused role involving navigation design, middleware optimization, sensor fusion, and high-performance C++ development for real-world industrial deployment.

This position requires strong ownership, deep robotics fundamentals, and experience building production-grade systems.

Key Responsibilities

1. ROS 1 to ROS 2 Migration

• Port core navigation and control logic from ROS 1 (Noetic) to ROS 2 (Humble/Iron)
• Rewrite nodes using Lifecycle Management and Node Composition
• Bridge legacy systems using ros1_bridge
• Port and validate custom message and service definitions
• Optimize inter-node communication for zero-copy performance

2. Navigation & Autonomy Architecture

• Architect and customize Nav2 stack
• Develop custom Behavior Tree plugins
• Implement custom Costmap layers for dynamic obstacle handling
• Design robust global and local planning strategies (A*, DWB, TEB)

3. Middleware & DDS Optimization

• Configure and tune DDS implementations (FastDDS / CycloneDDS)
• Optimize QoS profiles for lossy WiFi and constrained industrial networks
• Debug discovery and multicast-related issues
• Ensure deterministic and real-time communication behavior

4. Sensor Fusion & Localization

• Implement and tune EKF/UKF pipelines using robot_localization
• Fuse IMU, Wheel Odometry, and LiDAR data
• Maintain bounded covariance and state estimation stability
• Debug drift and pose estimation inconsistencies

5. Serialization & Internal Systems

• Implement Protocol Buffers (Protobuf) for efficient internal data logging
• Design low-overhead inter-process communication mechanisms
• Ensure minimal latency and memory-safe execution

Technical Requirements

Robotics Stack

• Strong hands-on experience with ROS 2 (Humble/Iron preferred)
• Solid understanding of ROS 1 architecture and migration practices
• Deep knowledge of Nav2 (Planners, Controllers, Recoveries)
• Experience with SLAM frameworks (Cartographer, SLAM Toolbox)

Core Robotics Fundamentals

• Rigid body transformations and coordinate frames (SE(3))
• Quaternions and homogeneous transformation matrices
• TF tree architecture (map → odom → base_link)
• Forward & Inverse Kinematics (Differential Drive / Ackermann)
• Probabilistic robotics and Bayesian estimation principles

Programming

• Advanced C++ (C++14/17)
• RAII
• Smart pointers
• Template metaprogramming
• Real-time safe coding practices
• Python for prototyping and orchestration

What We’re Looking For

• Strong debugging skills in distributed systems
• Ability to handle real-world deployment constraints
• Experience building robotics systems beyond simulation
• Comfort working in production-level autonomy stacks

Nice to Have

• Experience with industrial robotics deployments
• Experience working in GPS-denied environments
• Exposure to real-time Linux systems
• DDS security configuration experience