Principal Physical AI Distributed Systems Researcher

About the Role

Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is at the forefront of powering the smart planet, with its software framework enabling applications from Robotaxi fleets to digital operating rooms. We are building an edge-to-cloud physical data streaming platform for low-level machine control, AI-driven smart operation, modern agentic coding, and seamless cloud orchestration.

We are seeking a Principal Physical AI Distributed Systems Researcher to join our highly regarded research team. This role offers an unparalleled opportunity 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. Unlike academia or other corporate research departments, RTI's team works closely with product development and field teams, ensuring that cutting-edge work actively powers the future of smart distributed systems and delivers real-world applications.

What You’ll Do / Responsibilities

• 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 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 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.

What We’re Looking For / Requirements

• Ph.D. degree in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a 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 and 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."

What We Offer You

• Flexible working schedule.
• Hybrid working + Home Office Stipend.
• Flexible Paid Time Off + “Real Vacation Bonus” for taking more than 1-week of uninterrupted vacation.
• Competitive compensation including annual bonus based on individual and company performance.
• Opportunities for career growth and development.

About RTI

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™. Our software powers the largest power plants, over 300 autonomous vehicle designs, new generation medical robotics, NASA’s launch control, and Canada’s air traffic control, impacting over 2 million cars. 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.