Senior Software Engineer - NREC

Carnegie Mellon University•Pittsburgh, PA

5d•Onsite

About The Position

At the National Robotics Engineering Center (NREC), engineers and technicians drive breakthroughs in sophisticated robotic solutions for industrial, commercial, and government sectors. The team collaborates closely with leadership and multidisciplinary teams, fostering a culture of professionalism, respect, and collaboration. NREC offers a flexible and encouraging environment for skill development, impactful projects, and career growth. This role involves developing software for advanced robotic systems, collaborating with internal teams and external sponsors throughout the product lifecycle. The team comprises diverse backgrounds to build robust software and firmware for applications ranging from industrial operator-assist systems to agricultural productivity tools and autonomous safety platforms. Daily tasks include programming and interfacing with custom sensors and hardware, debugging prototype systems, and integrating software modules into complex platforms, ultimately advancing NREC's mission to pioneer high-impact robotics.

Requirements

B.S. in Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or equivalent experience, with 5+ years of professional software development experience (including advanced academic research).
Strong mastery of modern C++ in a Linux environment, with a track record of designing clean, maintainable, and efficient system architectures.
High proficiency in Python (or similar scripting languages) for data analysis, automation, and quick technical validation.
Practical experience with network protocols, IPC (Inter-Process Communication), hardware driver integration, or real-time data streaming.
Exceptional technical communication skills, with a proven ability to explain complex concepts clearly, listen actively, and foster a supportive team environment.
Strong foundational understanding of software engineering concepts applied to physical or cyber-physical systems (e.g., state machines, sensor integration, or computer vision basics).
Deep familiarity with Git workflows, code reviews, automated testing frameworks, and bug tracking systems.
Successful pre-employment background check.
This position will require work on a variety of projects, including projects that involve military/defense applications and/or are funded by military/defense sponsors.

Nice To Haves

Experience with robotics middleware or simulation environments (ROS / ROS 2, Gazebo, or custom middleware).
Domain expertise in computer vision, motion planning, machine learning, kinematics, or graphics.
Experience in embedded Linux, real-time systems (RTOS), or developing low-level hardware drivers.
Background in data management, telemetry pipelines, or scientific computing.
Experience leading technical projects or serving as a scrum master/tech lead in an agile, cross-functional team.

Responsibilities

Design, develop, document, test, troubleshoot, and maintain software applications and integrated systems for both robotic and general-purpose applications.
Architect & Build Complex Systems: Design, develop, document, test, troubleshoot, and maintain core software applications and integrated systems for both robotic platforms and supporting infrastructure.
Technical Leadership & Architecture: Drive high-level software architecture, data pipelines, and system requirements, balancing long-term scalability with real-world hardware constraints.
Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner closely with hardware engineers, UI/UX developers, product leads, and project sponsors to translate complex operational needs into clear technical specifications and robust solutions.
Mentorship & Team Growth: Actively mentor and support junior and mid-level engineers through constructive code reviews, technical guidance, and championing collaborative development practices.
Tools, Infrastructure & Communication: Build and maintain development tools, CI/CD pipelines, logging/telemetry tools, and network communication protocols for real-time robotic systems.
R&D and Continuous Innovation: Survey modern literature, benchmark open-source packages, and prototype state-of-the-art techniques (in C++ and Python) to solve novel, challenging robotics problems.
Full-Lifecycle Testing & Field Support: Lead testing across the complete lifecycle, from unit tests and simulation to hands-on testing with physical robot hardware, and support operators by diagnosing and resolving field issues.