Robotics Software Lead - Construction

Job Description:

The Robotics Software Lead is responsible for setting the technical direction for HITT's robotics software team and leading the development of systems designed for complex, dynamic, and unstructured construction jobsites. This role guides initiatives across the full development lifecycle, from proof-of-concept prototypes through scaled field deployment. As a hands-on, product-minded engineering leader, the Robotics Software Lead owns the software stack, manages and mentors engineers, coordinates strategic co-development partnerships, supports the robotics R&D development roadmap, and establishes the architecture, infrastructure, and engineering practices that empower the team to experiment quickly and scale successful solutions.

This team member reports to the Robotics Lead and is part of HITT's Robotics Team, which leads research and development, pilot programs, and full-time field deployments. The Robotics Team's mission is to support our project teams, transform our industry, and bring robots to every jobsite.

The ideal candidate has led software teams that have developed and deployed complex robotics systems in demanding real-world environments. They are equally comfortable moving quickly to validate an early concept while applying the engineering discipline required to mature a prototype into a reliable, safe, and maintainable field system. They combine systems-level field robotics expertise with a product mindset, clear project leadership, and a practical understanding of the tradeoffs and dependencies among software, sensors, compute, networking, controls, mechanical hardware, and field operations. This role offers the opportunity to define a foundational software platform, grow a high-performing engineering team, and directly influence how HITT develops and deploys robotics in the field.

We encourage strong candidates excited by this role to apply even if they do not match every technical qualification listed.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Technical Leadership

• Own the architecture and technical direction of the robotics software stack, including system interfaces, design standards, and technical review practices.

• Own the software infrastructure that supports development, simulation, automated testing, continuous integration and delivery, deployment, observability, data collection, and fleet support.

• Guide technical decisions across autonomy, perception, manipulation, operator interfaces, embedded compute, networking, simulation, and cloud-connected services.

• Lead efforts to integrate and extend third-party technologies via APIs, SDKs, middleware, and other software interfaces.

• Ensure software designs account for safety, cybersecurity, maintainability, degraded operating modes, and the environmental constraints of active construction sites.

• Establish standards for AI-assisted and agentic software development, including human review, automated testing, evaluation, and appropriate technical guardrails.

• Remain a hands-on technical contributor including architecture reviews, code reviews, prototyping, system integration, and diagnosis of difficult cross-stack issues.

• Travel to active construction sites and participate directly in testing, deployment, and operational support.

Team Leadership and Delivery

• Lead, manage, and mentor a team of software engineers, setting clear expectations and supporting their technical and professional development.

• Coordinate day-to-day R&D work by translating priorities into actionable plans, assigning ownership, tracking dependencies, and resolving blockers.

• Establish engineering plans, milestones, release criteria, and quality expectations for multiple concurrent robotics initiatives.

• Use product management practices to translate user needs, field observations, and business priorities into requirements, backlogs, experiments, and release plans.

• Promote disciplined software engineering practices, including documentation, version control, automated testing, CI/CD, configuration management, and reproducible development environments.

• Support team growth through thoughtful staffing, onboarding, feedback, and knowledge sharing.

Partnerships and Cross-Functional Coordination

• Lead the technical delivery of co-development initiatives with technology partners and vendors, including defining scope, interfaces, milestones, risks, acceptance criteria, and ownership.

• Evaluate third-party technologies and recommend when HITT should build, buy, adapt, or partner based on technical fit, lifecycle cost, schedule, risk, and supportability.

• Coordinate software priorities and integration work with hardware engineering, field testing, project teams, operations, information technology, cybersecurity, and other departments.

Research and Development Roadmap

• Support the development and execution of the R&D technical roadmap by identifying software capabilities, dependencies, resource needs, technical risks, and validation plans.

• Plan and oversee structured testing in the lab and on active construction projects, then use test results and operational feedback to prioritize engineering work and guide product decisions.

• Support deployed systems through remote and on-site troubleshooting, root-cause analysis, corrective actions, and improvements to monitoring and support processes.

• Document architectures, interfaces, test results, deployment procedures, and lessons learned so solutions can be supported and scaled.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in robotics, computer science, software engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, or related field, advanced degree preferred.

• 5+ years of experience in robotics software development, including demonstrated experience leading software engineering teams that developed and deployed complex field robotics applications in real-world environments.

• Experience applying product management practices to define requirements, prioritize roadmaps and backlogs, plan releases, and incorporate end-user feedback.

• Proficiency in C++, Python, and Linux-based robotics development and system-level troubleshooting.

• Experience applying modern software-engineering practices, including version control (e.g., Git), automated testing, CI/CD pipelines, and containerization (e.g., Docker).

• Experience working with APIs/SDKs, open-source software packages, and technical standards to bring together disparate technology components into a reliable solution.

• Fluency with AI-assisted and agentic software development (e.g., Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, Cursor).

• Experience leading external partners or vendors through co-development, integration, technical project management, and acceptance testing.

• Ability to communicate complex technical topics, decisions, risks, and plans clearly to technical and nontechnical audiences.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience developing robotic systems for construction, manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, mining, defense, or other demanding real-world environments.

• Experience with mobile robot autonomy, perception, SLAM, navigation, manipulation, motion planning, controls, or teleoperation.

• Experience developing low-latency teleoperation systems that integrate real-time video, command, and telemetry streams, including graceful degradation amid intermittent connectivity.

• Experience integrating cameras, LiDAR, GNSS, IMUs, actuators, embedded computers, GPU-accelerated perception, and other robotic sensing and control hardware.

• Experience using robotics simulation environments (e.g., Gazebo, NVIDIA Isaac Sim, Unity) to train, test, and validate robotic systems using Real-to-Sim and Sim-to-Real pipelines.

• Experience developing robotic systems using Robot Operating System 2 (ROS 2) and comparable robotics middleware.

• Experience developing cloud-connected robotics software (e.g., Azure, Azure DevOps, AWS), web-based operator interfaces (e.g., React, JavaScript/TypeScript), and real-time video-streaming pipelines (e.g., GStreamer).

In accordance with Virginia Senate Bill 215 (SB 215), the base salary range for this position is:

$120,000.00 - $175,000.00

Compensation in other cities and states may vary. HITT Contracting offers a competitive total benefits and compensation package including performance-based bonuses, premium health care coverage including vision and dental, employer-matched 401(k), wellness reimbursement program, paid holidays and time-off, and other voluntary benefits and leave types. The determination of salary is based on the candidate's individual professional experience, qualifications, education, skills, and training.