Network Software Engineer, Real-Time Systems

Job description

[FieldAI](http://www.fieldai.com)’s Irvine team is where embodied AI meets real robots, real sensors, and real field deployments. Based in the heart of Southern California’s robotics ecosystem, we build risk-aware, reliable, field-ready AI systems that solve the hardest problems in robotics and unlock the full potential of embodied intelligence. If you want your work to ship, get tested on hardware, and improve through real deployments, Irvine is the place. We go beyond typical data-driven approaches or pure transformer-only architectures, combining rigorous engineering with learning systems proven in globally deployed solutions that deliver results today and get better every time our robots run in the field. We’re looking for a **Software Engineer**to build the connectivity layer powering FieldAI’s robotic platforms in the real world. In this role, you’ll design and deploy low-latency, high-reliability communication systems that enable seamless, real-time interaction between robots and remote operators. You’ll work across cellular networks (4G/5G), edge-to-cloud systems, and distributed device infrastructure to ensure robust performance in dynamic, unpredictable environments. You’ll tackle hard problems like network handoffs, intermittent connectivity, and maintaining real-time performance under mobility, interference, and degraded conditions. This includes building systems that gracefully adapt to changing network quality while preserving responsiveness and reliability. This is a deeply hands-on role at the intersection of robotics, networking, and distributed systems. Your work will directly determine how our robots perceive, communicate, and operate in the field. ### What You Will Get To Do - Build low-latency, bidirectional audio/video streaming systems for telepresence and teleoperation - Design and optimize real-time communication over private 5G and heterogeneous networks - Monitor and improve network performance (latency, jitter, packet loss, throughput) in dynamic environments - Implement QoS strategies, congestion control, and adaptive streaming for reliable operation - Develop, test, and deploy communication systems directly on robotic platforms - Ensure robust performance under mobility, degraded connectivity, and real-world conditions ### What You Have - MS or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field - Strong experience building real-time or near real-time communication systems (e.g., TCP/UDP, RTP/RTCP, WebRTC) - Solid understanding of networking fundamentals, especially in wireless and cellular contexts (latency, jitter, handoffs, bandwidth constraints) - Experience working with Linux networking and debugging tools (e.g., tcpdump, iperf, ss, iw) - Familiarity with distributed systems and device-to-cloud communication architectures - Experience developing and validating systems on physical hardware, not just simulations - Working knowledge of ROS/ROS2 or similar frameworks for distributed robotic systems ### What Will Set You Apart - Experience deploying systems over cellular networks (LTE/5G), including private 5G setups - Background in telepresence, teleoperation, or real-time audio/video streaming systems - Deep understanding of adaptive bitrate, congestion control, QoS, and fault-tolerant networking - Experience with media and streaming frameworks (e.g., WebRTC, GStreamer, RTP pipelines) - Familiarity with mesh networking or device-to-device communication systems - Experience designing systems that gracefully handle intermittent connectivity and mobility - Strong ownership mindset, from system design through real-world deployment and iteration