Research Engineer – Robotics Connectivity

About the role

The Singapore Institute of Technology seeks a hands‑on Research Engineer to design, develop and deploy a vendor‑agnostic robotics connectivity layer for smart automation in a live logistics environment. You will work closely with the Principal Investigator, co‑PI and industry partners to deliver a standards‑aligned integration framework.

Key responsibilities

• Design, develop and integrate middleware nodes, protocol interfaces (OPC UA, Modbus, MQTT) and data pipelines using ROS 2.
• Build station‑level integration linking robots, sensors, PLCs and vision systems into a common framework.
• Create and maintain conformance test tooling to validate vendor interfaces against connectivity specifications.
• Develop embedded firmware for data‑capture endpoints and support custom electronics bring‑up.
• Support deployment, commissioning and site‑acceptance testing at the industry partner’s facility, troubleshooting in a live operational setting.
• Maintain technical documentation, interface specifications and version‑controlled codebases.
• Coordinate with technical leads, industry engineering teams and vendors to keep integration on schedule.

Required profile

• Degree in Mechatronics, Robotics, Electrical/Electronic Engineering, Computer Engineering or a related field.
• At least 5 years of experience spanning mechatronics, software development and project delivery.
• Demonstrated ability to plan, track and deliver technical work independently and coordinate across stakeholders.

Required skills

• Strong programming in C++ (primary) and Python; proficiency in C for embedded work.
• Hands‑on experience with ROS/ROS 2 and robotics middleware concepts.
• Experience integrating industrial hardware (robots, PLCs, sensors, cameras) and familiarity with OPC UA, Modbus, MQTT.
• Knowledge of Open‑RMF or similar interoperability frameworks and relevant standards (e.g., TR 130:2025).
• Embedded development on STM32, ESP32 or RP‑class microcontrollers; PCB bring‑up.
• Containerised deployment using Docker, Linux systems and networking fundamentals.
• Exposure to computer vision or AI‑based inspection systems.