Principal Physical AI Distributed Systems Researcher

The smart-planet promise is everywhere—from Robotaxi fleets and digital operating rooms to smart farms and dark factories—and Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the core nervous system making it a reality. As the creators of the world’s number one software framework for smart machines and real-time systems, our software runs the continent’s largest power plants, manages NASA’s launch control, underlies Canada’s air traffic control, and connects perception to control in over 300 autonomous vehicle designs. We are a mid-sized company with an outsized impact, leading the transition to Physical AI. To usher in this new intelligent world, we are building an edge-to-cloud physical data streaming platform capable of low-level machine control, AI-driven smart operation, modern agentic coding, and seamless cloud orchestration.

To help drive this mission, we are looking for a Principal Physical AI Distributed Systems Researcher to tackle the industry's toughest challenges, including enabling AI coding for distributed systems, delivering determinism and timing control, designing software-defined architectures, and ensuring system-wide coherence. This role is an unparalleled opportunity to join our truly unique research team. RTI Research is highly regarded; our excellent record helps us win millions of dollars in funding per year. Unlike academia or other corporate research departments, RTI's team works closely with product development and field teams delivering real-world applications. Like other top teams, we are creative, we take risks, we drive innovation, and we communicate openly. Unlike other top teams, our product and customers drive our results into real application. If you like to take creative risks and drive innovation, knowing your cutting-edge work will actively power the future of smart distributed systems, this role is for you.

✨ What You’ll Do / Responsibilities

You will work with a team of experts researching emerging technologies, coming up with novel solutions for the problems posed by our research sponsors, exploring new concepts for products, prototyping ideas, and leading small teams to develop and to enhance advanced features related to RTI’s secure real-time connectivity platform, Connext. This is an individual contributor role. Duties will include:

• Innovate new solutions that will form the foundation of secure, adaptable, and fast distributed systems
• Work with the business-development team to define research areas of interest and define interesting research proposal topics
• Compose research proposals and report progress to research sponsors
• Execute and lead research contracts to push our technology forward
• Serve as Principal Investigator and/or Staff Member on externally-funded research contracts.
• Actively interface with research project sponsors, customers, research partners, and prospects
• Develop expertise in emerging technology and share your insights across RTI
• Communicate technical innovations through papers and presentations
• Support the transition of promising technical innovations to product including customer trials, coordinating with product management, and working closely with the engineering team to design, develop, test and support this transition

• Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering or related field. Appropriate research expertise includes electromechanical, intelligent or autonomous systems, distributed systems, physical agentic AI, or computer networking. 
• An experimental thesis or real-world experience with physical applications or distributed systems research.
• Excellent written communications skills, and evidence of research publications. Experience writing and winning proposals, and research project management.
• Solid programming skills and experience with AI-assisted software development.
• Ability to work successfully / actively engage with a highly distributed team.
• US Person requirement *Due to applicable laws, government regulations and contract specifications, we are required to fill this position only with an individual who qualifies as a "U.S. Person."

Don’t meet every single requirement? At RTI, we are dedicated to building a fair and inclusive workplace so if you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t perfectly align with all qualifications in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway! You may be just the right candidate for this or another one of our open roles. Learn more about our commitment to our team, here!

• Flexible working schedule. 
• Hybrid working + Home Office Stipend to cover the costs of working from home.
• Flexible Paid Time Off + “Real Vacation Bonus,” an additional bonus for taking more than 1-week of uninterrupted vacation.
• Competitive compensation including annual bonus based on individual and company performance 
• We recognize employees for their achievements, offer great opportunities for career growth and development, and provide the tools they need to succeed.

• We have been certified as a Great Place to Work for seven consecutive years both in Spain and the US. In addition, we were listed as one of the Best Companies for Women to Advance. 
• We live and work by our core values, which emphasize excellence, teamwork, and reaching your potential. Our motto is “Enjoy the journey,” above all we must enjoy what we do and have fun at work. At RTI, you will work in a positive, supportive, diverse environment with a team that truly cares about you.
• We are defined by our “Working as One” culture and truly care about team’s interaction. That is why we plan trips for teams to get together in person, enjoy fun team-building activities and events, and feel more connected.

Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the data-streaming company for intelligent distributed systems. RTI Connext® software is the critical nervous system for over 2,000 designs across Aerospace and Defense, MedTech, Automotive, and Robotics. Connext is the only real-time data streaming platform that can both control demanding physical systems and integrate them with cloud applications. RTI helps organizations develop, deploy, and scale intelligence and physical AI from edge to cloud, faster. RTI Runs a Smarter World™. Learn more at www.rti.com.

Our software runs the largest power plants on the continent, connects perception to control in over 300 autonomous vehicle designs, drives the new generation of medical robotics, coordinates teams of robots, runs in over 2 million cars, manages NASA’s launch control, and underlies Canada’s air traffic control.  RTI is a mid-sized company with outsized impact. What we do matters. 

We are the best-positioned company in the world to create the future of smart distributed systems. We are building an edge-to-cloud physical data streaming platform, capable of low-level machine control, AI-driven smart operation, modern agentic coding, and cloud orchestration. It must connect physical devices together, share data between machines and cloud infrastructure, and enable fast, reliable system development. Our mission is to usher in the new intelligent world. 

RTI is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, age status as a protected veteran, or status as a qualified individual with disability.

We have a collaborative and inclusive environment where your talent, aptitude, and attitude determine opportunity to grow. Our culture embraces transparency, learning, and fun. We offer an attractive compensation package consisting of competitive salary, benefits, vacation bonuses, and equity participation.

The compensation range for this role is 155K - 240K for Sunnyvale, California. The salary range displayed on this job posting reflects a minimum and maximum target. Individual pay is determined by work location and additional factors, including job-related skills, experience, and relevant education or training. Please note that this range reflects the base salary target range only, and does not include bonus, equity, or benefits.

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