Robotics Software & Systems Integration Engineer

IHMC is seeking a talented Software / Systems Integration Engineer to be part of the IHMC Robotics Team to support tackling fundamental challenges in robotics on Alex, Spot, and Link. In this role, you will work full time with the robotics team to manage infrastructure and software tools to help make some of the most advanced humanoid robots, quadrupedal robots, and exoskeletons in the world. As IHMC is first and foremost a research institute, you will have opportunities to gain experiences and try new things, both with a varied set of responsibilities and through functions like the IHMC lecture series and regular learning lunches.

The robotics team has been working on legged robots for the past 24 years and is a world leader in humanoid robots, with highlights including placing second in the DARPA Robotics Challenge, winning the 2025 Humanoid Robotic Technology Best Research Organization, providing support for the NASA Space Robotics Challenge, and developing legged systems like the Nadia and Alex humanoids and the Link and Eva exoskeletons. This history of development has resulted in both a large, internally maintained software stack that ranges from algorithms performing perception to planning to control, along with a wide variety of open-source integration. We currently have a number of ongoing projects supporting our humanoids efforts, which seek to develop Alex into a semi-autonomous humanoid robot for exploration of urban structures, becoming one of  the most dynamic, capable robots in the world.

Roles and responsibilities:

  • Support and develop many of the IHMC open-source vendored libraries, including network, real-time, geometry, physics, computer vision, and other libraries
  • Maintain a collection of tightly coupled software packages including, but not limited to: CUDA, cuDNN, OpenCV, ZED SDK, and JetPack
  • Maintain a custom-compiled Linux kernel and various software packages for deploying to robotic control computers
  • Lead low-level performance improvements including, but not limited to: interrupt requests, kernel optimization, balancing thread affinities, EtherCAT and network interface benchmarking
  • Support physical integration of computer components and sensors on-board the robot
  • Support robot control computer system testing and debugging
  • Lead quality control of IHMC software stack across various platforms (Windows, Linux, NVIDIA Jetson)
  • Support and develop CI/CD tools (GitHub actions, runners, maintaining Linux servers)
  • Support Atlassian, GitHub, and similar products as necessary

Required Qualifications:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or Computer Engineering
  • Authorized to work in the United States
  • Strong proficiency and proof of prior work in C, C++, Java, or similar language
  • Experience with Linux systems
  • Experience with shell scripting
  • Experience with computer hardware

Preferred Qualifications:

  • 2 years of experience in applied computer systems or systems integration
  • Experience writing software with automated tests
  • Experience in networking:
    • Routing, switching, firewalling
    • ROS 2
    • DDS, RTPS protocols
    • Integrating and testing wireless systems
  • Experience with real-time environments:
    • Real-time Linux kernel
    • EtherCAT
    • Java real-time and allocation-free programming
  • Experience with Linux device trees
  • Experience with NVIDIA Jetson
  • Experience with Git
  • Experience with CI/CD tools

Why work at IHMC?

The robotics lab is an exciting place to work! We have researchers from all over the world, including TU Delft, ETH Zurich, MIT, Berkeley, Olin College, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech, Florida Tech, Embry Riddle, RIT, USC, UWF and UF. Having so many minds crammed into one building makes for some interesting conversation, amusing antics, and fun activities to blow off some steam. Our team makes it a priority to have paintball days, barbecues, sailing trips in Pensacola Bay, beach days, dress up dares, happy hours, and learning lunches.

Pensacola is a great place to live! The weather is (almost) always perfect for outdoor activities like sailing on the bay, volleyball on the white sand beaches, kayaking on Blackwater River, or camping right by the waves. The lab is located in Downtown Pensacola, surrounded by tasty restaurants, art museums, concert venues, farmers markets, and food trucks. Pensacola thrives on never-ending music, dining, dancing and cultural diversity located right at your fingertips. You’ll love it here!

This is for a full-time, paid position in Pensacola, Florida. You must be authorized or able to gain authorization to work in the United States.

To Apply:

Email to robotjobs@ihmc.org with the subject line “Software / Systems Integration Engineer – YourLastName” and include the following:

  1. Current resume in pdf format. Name your file: “YourLastName_Resume.pdf”.
  2. Cover letter in pdf format. Name your file: “YourLastName_CoverLetter.pdf”
  3. Download this Pre-Interview Questionnaire pdf, fill it out and attach it. Name your file: “YourLastName_Questionnaire.pdf”