RT Communication Bus Engineer (human)

Your mission & challenges

We are growing our real-time communication capability across NEURA's current and next-generation robot platforms. This role owns the deterministic bus layer that connects the robot's real-time operating system to actuators, sensors, and the higher-level Robot Abstraction Layer — EtherCAT, PTP / gPTP, TSN, and CANfd.

You will sit between the kernel and BSP layer (where the RT & Kernel engineer owns OS scheduling and the kernel network path) and the Robot Abstraction Layer (which consumes the bus through a stable communication interface), and collaborate closely with low-level control, hardware, and safety stakeholders to deliver a communication stack that is reliable, measurable, and suitable for a controlled product lifecycle.

• EtherCAT master stack configuration and maintenance for every robot platform: cycle management, slave topology, and integrity monitoring under real workload.
• The real-time communication server that bridges the EtherCAT master to the Robot Abstraction Layer's communication interface — and its evolution as platforms and drives change.
• Servo drive bring-up and commissioning at the firmware / protocol level: drive parameterisation, CoE / SoE handling, fault and state-machine behaviour on real hardware.
• Hardware clock synchronisation (IEEE 1588 PTP, 802.1AS gPTP) and TSN traffic shaping (802.1Qbv/Qav/AS) for deterministic Ethernet on robot cells; RT network path tuning to match.
• CANfd internal bus on the Compute Unit: PHY configuration, bit-timing, frame handling, and bus-level diagnostics.
• Co-review of WCET budgets and cycle timing with the RT & Kernel engineer at the OS / fieldbus boundary, ensuring scheduling, interrupt, and synchronisation assumptions hold under load.
• Measurement and diagnostic tooling for RT communication integrity (latency, jitter, missed cycles), giving dependent teams a shared, evidence-based view of timing.
• Safety- and certification-relevant design participation, documentation, and traceability for the communication path; technical documentation kept current for the wider engineering organisation.

What we can look forward to

• Hands-on experience with industrial EtherCAT master stacks (open-source or commercial) on real hardware — not configuration only.
• Servo drive commissioning experience using EtherCAT-based protocols (CoE / CANopen over EtherCAT, SoE / Sercos over EtherCAT), including drive parameter handling and state-machine debugging.
• Implementation-level experience with IEEE 1588 / PTP clock synchronisation on real hardware.

TSN stack configuration experience: 802.1Qbv/Qav/AS traffic shaping and gPTP hardware timestamping.

• CANfd protocol working knowledge: PHY configuration, bit-timing calculation, CANfd frame handling vs classic CAN 2.0.
• Solid C and C++ at the RT networking / embedded protocol boundary; practical scripting for engineering workflows.
• A collaborative working style: shared design, constructive code review, proactive communication, and reliable coordination across kernel, control, and hardware disciplines. Strong teamwork is essential for this role.
• Bachelor's degree in a relevant field, or equivalent practical experience.

Nice to Have

• Experience with industrial Ethernet ecosystems and infrastructure (Cisco Industrial, B&R X20, Hirschmann, or Beckhoff EK1100 series).
• Servo drive commissioning experience with vendors such as Synapticon or Beckhoff.
• Familiarity with real-time Linux network path tuning and interrupt coalescing.
• Exposure to functional safety engineering practices for deterministic communication paths — documentation, evidence, review cycles. Certification sign-off is not required for this role.
• Background in robotics, motion control, or industrial automation with strict timing expectations.
• Interest in growing scope as the platform team expands.