Principal / Director - Robotics System Architecture Lead

* Own end-to-end robotics system architecture spanning hardware, firmware, OS, middleware, AI runtimes, and cloud/fleet integration.

* Define architectural principles for real-time behavior, performance, safety isolation, determinism, and scalability across heterogeneous compute (CPU/GPU/DSP/NPU/MCU).

* Lead architectural decisions across perception, localization, navigation, planning, manipulation, and control stacks.

* Define multi-sensor architecture (cameras, IMU, lidar/radar, depth) including timing/synchronization, calibration, bandwidth, and compute/power trade-offs for robust perception and state estimation.

* Architect time synchronization and deterministic sensor data paths (e.g., hardware timestamping, clock discipline, PTP/IEEE 1588 where applicable) to enable precise multi-sensor fusion and real-time decision making.

* Guide signal processing and sensor pipeline design (ISP, filtering, denoising, feature extraction, sensor fusion inputs), partnering with silicon and algorithm teams to meet accuracy, latency, and reliability targets.

* Drive integration of ROS 2 / DDS-based middleware and Qualcomm AI technologies into a cohesive, production-grade robotics platform.

* Partner with silicon, software, AI, and product teams to ensure alignment between software architecture and SoC capabilities, influencing future platform requirements as needed.

* Establish system-level strategies for reliability, diagnostics, functional safety patterns, and validation.

* Support customer and partner engagements by translating requirements into scalable reference architectures and platform solutions.

* Review and guide complex cross-team design efforts; serve as the technical escalation point for system-level issues.

* Provide technical leadership and mentorship across multiple teams and geographies.

* Help define hiring standards, technical expectations, and architecture review processes.

* Influence multi-year robotics platform strategy and investment priorities.

- Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 8+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.

Master's degree in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 7+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.

PhD in Engineering, Information Systems, Computer Science, or related field and 6+ years of Systems Engineering or related work experience.

*Works in the lab, can use hazardous chemicals (e.g., glue, machinery).

* 15+ years of experience in robotics, autonomous systems, embedded platforms, or large-scale software systems.

* Proven experience owning system-level architecture across hardware and software boundaries.

* Strong understanding of robotics fundamentals: perception, sensor fusion, estimation, planning, and control.

* Experience working with heterogeneous compute platforms and performance- or real-time-critical systems.

* Demonstrated ability to drive alignment and influence decisions across cross-functional engineering teams.

* Experience shipping commercial or industrial robotic products at scale.

* Hands-on experience with ROS 2, DDS, real-time Linux, MCU-based systems, and AI inference runtimes.

* Familiarity with cloud-connected robotics, fleet management, or edge-to-cloud architectures.

* Prior experience influencing platform or silicon roadmaps.