Contractual Robotics Software Engineer Jobs in Virginia

About Ornata

Ornata is building the remote operations platform for agriculture.

We help farms operate machinery without a human in the cab, using the equipment they already own. Our service combines retrofit autonomy hardware, remote operators, AI, and operational systems to unlock the benefits of autonomy for every farm.

We are working with some of Australia's leading broadacre farming businesses and are now building the operational foundations required to scale safely, reliably, and repeatably.

About the role

We are looking for a Senior Robotics Software Engineer to design and own the embedded and edge software that keeps autonomous tractors operating safely and reliably in the field.

You will work closely with operators and the engineering team to understand how our machines behave in real conditions, then independently drive robust technical solutions. This is a hands-on senior role centred on safety-critical systems, fault tolerance, and resilient autonomy in demanding outdoor environments.

You will report directly to the CTO and help shape the future of Ornata's autonomy stack. Your software will directly control heavy machinery working in the paddock, so engineering excellence, safety, and reliability sit at the heart of everything you do.

What you'll do

• Design and implement tractor safety systems — failsafes, watchdogs, redundancy strategies, and recovery behaviours.
• Develop and maintain high-reliability software running on edge devices and microcontrollers, with a focus on uptime and deterministic behaviour.
• Contribute to localisation, path planning, and control systems that operate reliably across variable terrain and environmental conditions.
• Design and implement perception pipelines using LiDAR, cameras, and other onboard sensors, and build robust sensor fusion for localisation, obstacle detection, and environmental understanding in dynamic field conditions.
• Design and maintain robust communication pipelines between field hardware and cloud services, including telemetry and command pathways.
• Build automated unit, integration, and simulation-based test frameworks, and lead hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing to validate behaviour across real sensors and actuators.
• Implement logging, telemetry, and on-device diagnostics to support safe deployment and rapid field debugging.

What success looks like

In the first 90 days, you will understand Ornata's autonomy stack, how our machines behave in the field, and where the reliability and safety risks sit — and you will be shipping improvements to the edge software with confidence.

Over the first 12 months, success means the on-machine software is more reliable, safer, and easier to debug in the field: safety mechanisms you can trust, perception and control that hold up across variable terrain, and test and observability frameworks that let the team deploy changes to heavy machinery with confidence.

This is a senior, hands-on engineering role. You will own safety-critical software that controls heavy machinery in the field, so we are looking for someone with the depth to build fault-tolerant systems and the judgement to know where the edge cases hide.

You'll likely be a good fit if you:

• Have 5+ years of experience in embedded systems, robotics, or autonomous platforms.
• Have strong C/C++ skills, including on microcontrollers, with proficiency in Python.
• Have a deep understanding of navigation systems (localisation, path planning) and control theory.
• Have built safety-critical or fault-tolerant systems, and think naturally about failure modes, redundancy, and recovery.
• Have practical experience with HIL testing and automated validation frameworks.
• Are comfortable with Linux-based edge devices and distributed system communication.
• Have strong experience developing perception systems using LiDAR and/or camera data, including point cloud processing and sensor fusion.
• Hold a degree in Robotics, Computer, Electrical, or Mechatronic Engineering.

Useful experience — any of the following would help, but none are strict requirements:

• ROS / ROS2, ArduPilot, or Gazebo simulation.
• NVIDIA Jetson platforms and/or OTA update systems.
• CAN bus systems and standards (e.g. J1939).
• Buildroot or Yocto.
• Working on real-world autonomous vehicles or heavy machinery.
• Be part of a committed team and see the rewards of your work — all early team members, including this role, hold company options, so each of us is rewarded for the company's success.
• Real-world impact: your software directly controls heavy machinery operating in the paddock.
• Architectural influence: report directly to the CTO and help shape the future of Ornata's autonomy stack.
• A hands-on engineering environment in Richmond, with access to live hardware, testing rigs, and field deployments.
• Quick-paced career growth for tenacious go-getters.
• Be part of an inner-city Melbourne team building technology for one of Australia's most important industries.

A base package of $130,000–$160,000, plus superannuation and employee share options (ESOP). We expect to offer a competitive senior package for the right person.