Robotics Middleware Engineer – UAV Systems (m/w/d)

Full-time

What we offer

• Work in an international, agile team creating the future of autonomous systems
• Grow your career in a expanding and ambitious engineering team
• Build innovative products using state-of-the-art technologies in AI, robotics, and autonomy
• Benefit from a steep learning curve and continuous development
• Enjoy team events and a strong, collaborative culture

Your mission

Your mission will be several parts of:

• Design, build , and harden the ROS 2 middleware layer :message schemas, QoS profiles, routing, callback prioritization, dedicated executors by criticality.
• Make data move reliably from sensors → fusion/ perception → planning/ actuation :time sync (PTP/NTP), timestamps, clean frames/TF, rosbag replay for debugging.
• Realize a modular and extensible sensor I/O & fusion framework :drivers/bridges, message conversions, composable pipelines.
• Integrate hardware components on Jetson / ARM :bring‑up GNSS/IMU/cameras/LiDAR/radar, tune I/O buses (CSI/USB/Ethernet), manage power/thermals.
• Liaise with computer‑vision and acoustics experts :expose stable interfaces, define latency budgets, and service contracts (topics, rates, QoS).
• Evaluate and select middleware options (DDS, transports, codecs, HW acceleration) under latency and reliability constraints.
• Keep track of the ROS 2/middleware ecosystem & best practices (executors, tracing, security, observability) and drive continuous improvements.
• Ensure consistently high quality of the overall detection & tracking pipeline: via end-to-end integration tests, embedded CI/CD, metrics, and alerting.

What you’ll work with

• ROS 2 (rclcpp,lifecycle, rosbag2, tracing), DDS (QoS profiles), C++17/20
• Jetson Orin/Xavier, CUDA/TensorRT, V4L2/GStreamer
• Embedded Linux, colcon, Docker/Podman, Git (PRs/reviews), CI/CD

Your profile

• University degree in Computer Science, Informatics, Math, Physics, etc...
• Relevant experience with C++
  • Interesting frameworks are for example: Eigen, Ceres, GTSAM
  • Rust is a bonus
  • Also great to have ROS (2), OpenCV
• Some key points for the position we would need:
  • C++
    • memory management
    • multithreading (executors, callback groups; prefer lock‑free where sensible)
    • error/exception handling (contracts, retries, watchdogs)
  • ROS 2
    • evaluation and use of different middlewares (CycloneDDS, Fast DDS, Connext)
    • knowledge of data transfer and callback prioritization (QoS, executors, deadlines, liveness, intra‑process)
  • Knowledge of other robotics frameworks (ROS 1, DDS native or custom solution, GStreamer, LCM/LCMS, ZeroMQ, etc.)
  • NVIDIA Jetson
    • memory management (CPU/GPU, pinned memory, zero‑copy)
    • HW accelerators (CUDA/TensorRT/VPI — orchestrating data flows)
    • sensor acquisition interfaces (CSI/MIPI, USB3, Ethernet, CAN, SPI)

Nice to have

• Exposure to PX4/ArduPilot/MAVLink for autopilot interfacing (optional)

What else

• Intrinsic motivation, willing to go the extra mile, attention to detail
• Outside of the box creativity, conceptual & systematic design thinking
• Fluent in English or German
• Nationality of a NATO member nation or close ally is a must

About us

The world is changing. Exponential technologies are enabling new types of security threats. ATS is committed to staying ahead by building nimble, scalable, and cost‑effective defences. We are looking for passionate team members who are eager to create exceptional products, safeguard our freedom, and strengthen the resilience of democracies.

Who we are: Autonomous Teaming is a defence‑tech start‑up specializing in machine vision solutions. Driven by cutting‑edge innovation, our team works on next‑generation technologies designed to meet rapidly evolving security challenges.

What we do: We develop systems that enable computers and sensors to operate as coordinated teams, collaborating in real time to counter AI‑powered asymmetric threats at scale — including drone swarms and other UXVs. Our mission is to build resilient, intelligent defence capabilities that perform reliably in the most demanding environments.

How we work: We value close, in‑person collaboration as the foundation for building complex, high‑impact technology, while maintaining flexibility aligned to role and team needs. Our culture is built on ownership, responsibility, and trust — with a shared commitment to growing and building together.

Where we are: Based in Munich, Berlin, and Toulouse, we are expanding rapidly across Europe with plans to open additional office hubs.