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Engineering Manager - Robotics & Drones

We are Aptiv - a global technology company with 200,000 specialists in 48 countries. We develop innovative software and build the hardware to bring autonomous driving cars, advanced driver-assistance systems, connected vehicles and smart cities to life in a way that only we can. We work in partnership with almost all car manufacturers. Our sensors, systems and software can already be found in almost all passenger cars today.

We are building a new Robotics business at Aptiv, focused on Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) and Drones for warehouse, industrial, and adjacent markets. So we are seeking an Engineering Manager with experience to define and own the end-to-end architecture for autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) and drone platforms while directly leading and growing high-performing robotics development teams.

In this role, you will balance hands-on architectural leadership with people management, guiding teams responsible for perception, localization, planning, safety, and platform software. You will establish technical direction, ensure architectural integrity across programs, and develop engineers through mentorship, coaching, and clear engineering standards. You will work closely with product management, hardware/SoC teams, and engineering partners to turn PoCs into scalable, reusable architectures that can be deployed across multiple customers and robot form factors.

Key Responsibilities:

Architecture & System Design

• Manage a team responsible for the overall software architecture for AMR and drone platforms, from sensors to perception, localization, planning, safety, and cloud connectivity.
• Support defining platform architecture based on ROS 2 / middleware, real-time OS, and Linux, ensuring modularity, scalability, and re-use across programs.
• Support partition functionality across onboard compute (SoCs, MCUs) and offboard services, including edge and cloud where appropriate.
• Support defining and maintaining clear APIs and interfaces between perception, mapping/localization, planning, control, safety, and fleet/enterprise systems.
• Support verifying that the software architecture design meets all derived software requirements (performance, throughput/latency, moding)

Technical Leadership

• Lead architecture reviews, design decisions, and trade-offs (safety vs. performance, cost vs. capability, CPU/GPU/NPU offload, etc.).
• Provide technical direction to software teams implementing autonomy, perception, and safety features.
• Mentor senior and junior engineers on architectural best practices, coding standards, and design patterns for robotics systems.
• Collaborate with embedded compute teams to map robotics workloads to heterogeneous compute (CPU, GPU, NPU, DSP).

Safety, Reliability & Compliance

• Support architecture of the software stack to meet relevant functional safety standards (e.g., IEC 61508, ISO 13849, ISO 10218, ISO 3691-4, ISO 12100 - as applicable to AMRs/industrial robots).
• Support defining safety concepts and software patterns (safety monitors, watchdogs, safe states, redundancy, diagnostics).
• Collaborate with safety engineering to develop and maintain safety cases, hazard analyses, and FMEAs for software.
• Drive architectural strategies for robustness, resiliency, observability, and over-the-air updates.

Simulation, Tooling & DevOps

• Define how simulation (e.g., Gazebo / Isaac / Webots / custom) fits into the development flow - from algorithm prototyping to regression and scenario testing.
• Work with DevOps/Tools teams to shape CI/CD pipelines, testing strategy (HIL/SIL/MIL), and performance benchmarks for robotics software.
• Evaluate and integrate open-source components and third-party SDKs, ensuring license compliance, maintainability, and fit to architecture.

Customer & Partner Engagement

• Translate customer/partner requirements into technical architecture and system requirements.
• Support PoCs and demos with partners (e.g., AMR OEMs, drone OEMs, industrial automation vendors), ensuring architectural alignment with the long-term platform vision.
• Contribute to technical roadmaps, build-vs-buy decisions, and ecosystem strategy (ROS 2 distributions, middleware vendors, safety toolchains, etc.).

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical/Computer Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
• 8+ years of experience in robotics or embedded software development, with at least 3-5 years in a technical leadership or people management role.
• Hands-on experience building and deploying software for real robots (AMRs, AGVs, drones, industrial arms, or similar).
• Deep understanding of ROS / ROS 2, including nodes, topics, services, actions, parameters, launch, and packages.
• Experience designing systems involving several of the following:
  • Perception (vision, lidar, radar, depth, multi-sensor fusion)
  • Mapping & Localization (2D/3D SLAM, VIO, VSLAM, VO, sensor fusion)
  • Planning & Navigation (global and local planners, obstacle avoidance, trajectory generation)
  • Real-time control loops and low-level robot interfaces (motor drivers, IMUs, encoders, etc.)
• Solid understanding of Linux-based systems, containerization (Docker/Podman), and networked middleware (DDS or similar).
• Proven ability to write clear architecture documents, sequence diagrams, and interface definitions consumable by cross-functional teams.
• Embedded microprocessor experience (operating systems, I/O drivers, communication drivers, etc.)
• Software testing and debugging experience
• Excellent communication / presentation skills

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with industrial / mobile robotics in logistics, warehousing, manufacturing, or similar environments.
• Familiarity with functional safety and safety development lifecycles (IEC 61508, ISO 13849, ISO 26262 or related standards).
• Experience with heterogeneous compute (e.g., Qualcomm, NVIDIA, TI, Renesas, or similar SoCs) and hardware acceleration of perception/ML workloads.
• Prior work with simulation environments (Gazebo, Isaac Sim, Webots, custom in-house) and scenario-based testing.
• Understanding of wireless connectivity and edge offload (Wi-Fi, 5G, TSN, low-latency links) in robotics systems.
• Exposure to cloud integration (telemetry, remote monitoring, OTA updates, digital twins, data pipelines).
• Experience in start-up or incubation environments, building something from scratch under ambiguity.
• Experience with GPU Architectures and programming
• Experience with implementing machine learning applications
• CAN/Ethernet communication protocols and tools experience
• Cybersecurity experience for embedded and networked systems

Traits we seek:

• Curiosity-driven problem solvers who investigate deeply and think systemically.
• Confident leaders who empower teams, set direction, and earn trust.
• Hands-on learners with an experimental, builder mindset.
• Resilient thinkers who see challenges as opportunities to learn and improve.

It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Salary Range: $170k - $200k
As a candidate for this position, your salary and will be contingent upon your work experience, education, skills and any other factors Aptiv considers relevant to the hiring decision.

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Aptiv is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.