Head of On-Robot Software

Department: Software

Location: Palo Alto

Employment Type: FullTime

At Rhoda AI, we're building the full-stack foundation for the next generation of humanoid robots — from high-performance, software-defined hardware to the foundational models and video world models that control it. Our robots are designed to be generalists capable of operating in complex, real-world environments and handling scenarios unseen in training. We work at the intersection of large-scale learning, robotics, and systems, with a research team that includes researchers from Stanford, Berkeley, Harvard, and beyond. We're not building a feature; we're building a new computing platform for physical work — and with over $400M raised, we're investing aggressively in the R&D, hardware development, and manufacturing scale-up to make that a reality.

We're looking for a senior leader to build and lead our on-robot software organization. The Head of On-Robot Software will own the full software stack that runs on the robot — from real-time control to system integration, sensor interfaces, teleoperation, networking, safety systems, and cloud connectivity. This role is ideal for someone who has led robotics software teams, shipped mature, multi-subsystem robotic products, and is comfortable owning everything that makes the robot actually work.

What You'll Do

Technical Leadership

• Own the complete on-robot software architecture, including: real-time control (low-level, whole-body, model-based + learned), system services and middleware (ROS2 or equivalent), sensor fusion, calibration, and time synchronization, actuator drivers & hardware abstraction layers, safety systems, watchdogs, and fault recovery, networking, teleoperation, cloud interfaces, and data logging & telemetry architecture

• Define the robot's modular software architecture to enable AI control, scalable development, and reliable production operation

• Ensure real-time performance, stability, and safety across all robot subsystems

• Oversee integration of AI models into the robot stack, including runtime execution, APIs, and failover systems

Cross-Functional Ownership

• Collaborate with the hardware team on sensors, actuators, embedded firmware, and system reliability

• Work with the AI team on API surfaces for learned controllers, high-level planners, and data collection pipelines

• Partner with product and operations teams to ensure the software supports manufacturing, testing, fleet ops, and customer deployments

• Lead on-robot bring-up for new hardware revisions and new platforms

Team Leadership & Execution

• Build and lead a multidisciplinary robot software team (controls, systems, drivers, real-time, networking)

• Establish engineering culture, coding standards, testing frameworks, simulation processes, and release pipelines

• Own hiring, performance management, and budgets for the robot software group

• Drive execution toward reliable, production-ready releases

Delivery & System Reliability

• Deliver consistent, high-quality robot control and behavior in real environments

• Build fleet-ready infrastructure: over-the-air updates, telemetry, remote debugging, and log streaming

• Ensure all on-robot components are scalable, debuggable, and maintainable

• Implement real-time testing frameworks, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and end-to-end validation

What We're Looking For

• 10+ years of experience in robotics software or real-time systems; 5+ years in engineering leadership

• Shipped one or more production-grade robotic systems (e.g., arms, AMRs, industrial robots, humanoids)

• Deep experience with: robot operating systems (ROS2 or similar), real-time control & estimation, sensor fusion and hardware drivers, distributed systems on-robot, networking, APIs, and systems integration

• Strong C and Python skills

• Experience leading large teams and coordinating across hardware, AI, and product

• Strong intuition for safety, reliability, debuggability, and operational excellence

Nice to Have (But Not Required)

• Experience integrating learned controllers or AI-driven behavior

• Background in humanoid robots, mobile manipulators, or high-DoF systems

• Experience with firmware, embedded systems, or custom electronics

• Familiarity with cloud robotics, fleet ops, teleop systems, and OTA update frameworks

Why This Role

• Own the entire software layer that makes our humanoids move, perceive, and operate in the real world — one of the most technically complex and consequential roles in physical AI

• Build and lead a team from the ground up, with direct influence over architecture, culture, and the engineering foundation the company will scale on

• Work at the intersection of cutting-edge AI and production robotics, where the software you ship gets deployed on real humanoids in real environments