Senior Engineer Lead

About the opportunity

The Australian Centre for Robotics (ACFR) has been instrumental in developing breakthrough technologies, conducting world-renowned research and developing field robotics principles and systems.

We are currently seeking to hire a Senior Engineer Lead to take primary technical responsibility for the design, build, integration, and field deployment of software systems for ground robots operating in extreme field environments. Working under the broad direction of the Chief Investigator, you will design and maintain the core software framework, autonomy framework, and data pipelines for ruggedised autonomous platforms intended for sustained operation in rugged outdoor terrain across multiple application domains.

This is a senior individual contributor role. You will work autonomously on the software scope of the platform, with technical assurance provided by the Senior Software Technical Lead at defined design reviews, and with close collaboration alongside the Mechatronics Engineers and Postdoctoral Research Fellows whose autonomy research integrates with the framework you build. The appointment is offered initially for 12 months. The programme is funded across multiple years and there is strong potential for extension subject to performance and continued funding.

Your key responsibilities will be to:

• act as the primary software designer for the platform, ensuring software is robust, efficient, reliable, and fit for purpose in field robotics applications
• design and develop the core software framework, including middleware, sensor drivers, communications stack, and platform control software
• design and maintain the autonomy framework into which research outputs are integrated
• design and operate data pipelines for capture, transmission, storage, and handover of field-collected research data
• lead the writing of portable, reliable and maintainable source code in C++ and Python, targeted for ROS2 and Linux, conforming to a style guide and with unit tests
• objectively assess the quality and validity of results in selected scenarios, and identify issues requiring further investigation
• prepare, conduct and support tests of robots in the field, including in-field debugging
• collaborate closely with Mechatronics Engineers on the software-mechatronics interface
• support the Project Manager in planning, risk management, field trials, and reporting
• occasionally travel to rural areas and/or interstate to support fieldwork