“We are on a mission: to transform the future of online grocery through cutting-edge technology innovation.”

What does the team do

As part of our Advanced Technology division, our talented robotics research engineers are working on sensor-guided robotic systems to further improve the efficiency of our operation. Our primary goal is to find the best way to deploy robots in the production of grocery orders. In order to do this, we pursue cutting-edge research into state of the art algorithms, sensing technologies, and manipulation techniques. Our ideal candidate will be a specialist in the field of robotic learning, with good programming skills and the ability to translate their own scientific ideas into reusable code.

To give you an idea of the types of projects you might work on, here’s some examples of previous successes. As part of our effort to be in the vanguard of robotics research, the team has been involved in two European Union funded Horizon 2020 research projects with a number of leading European Universities:-

What will you do?

• Develop applications for simulating ancillary components (gripper, suction, vision, arm, etc) for the Robot pick systems
• Develop simulation prototypes that could be used for future prediction analysis and also optimisation of the existing system.
• Taking an active role in the choice of technologies and techniques used in building robotic pick and pack simulations.
• Participating in all the SDLC phases of a robot picking simulation system.
• Driving improvements to code quality through appropriate methods including testing, code review and mentoring.
• Implementing and supporting deployment pipelines to improve delivery to stakeholders and maintain release quality.
• Collaborating with stakeholders including different customer teams and product managers to define interfaces and deliverables that meet their requirements.
• Discovering, evaluating and implementing new tools and practices along with maintaining existing standards to increase the effectiveness of the team.
• Documenting and presenting progress and deliverables.

We'd like to hear from you if you have...

• Demonstrable experience of developing and maintaining production software in a strongly typed programming language, preferably C#, C++ or Java
• Experience with Robotic simulation, preferably in robotic manipulation
• Good grasp of software engineering fundamentals: SOLID principles, architecture, design patterns, testing
• Experience with CI/CD, preferably GitOps, will also consider experience with Hudson, Gitlab CI, Gitlab Actions, Circle CI, Travis, TeamCity, etc
• Experience using Containers (Docker)
• Focus on code quality both in own work and that of the wider team using automated tools and libraries.
• Experience working on Simulation platforms: Unity, Gazebo, AWS Robomaker or similar
• Experience developing on Linux
• Understanding of agile methodologies and principles

Bonus points if you have…

• Knowledge of more than one programming languages
• Understanding of cloud systems e.g. GCP or AWS.
• Experience working with robotic arms, robotic simulators and robotic frameworks.
• GoLang software development skills
• Experience in gRPC and protocol buffers
• Basic computer vision knowledge and experience working with depth images and point clouds
• Experience working with 3D modelling tools like Blender
• Experience working with ROS
• Knowledge in machine learning models

About Ocado Technology

Ocado Technology is changing the way the world shops using advanced Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Robotics, Big Data, Cloud and IoT. We develop the innovative software and hardware systems that power Ocado.com, as well as the unique ‘Ocado Smart Platform’ which is being implemented by ambitious retailers across the world from Europe to America, Asia and beyond.

Find out more about how we are pioneering the future through serial technology innovation here.

Our Values

We champion a value-led culture to get our teams working at their very best and to help create a collaborative working environment with inspiring projects that our people love. Core values of Trust, Autonomy, Craftsmanship, Collaboration and Learn Fast help drive our innovative culture. But don’t just take our word for it, have a look at what our people are saying about us on Glassdoor.

What we offer you

Our employee benefits are designed for you, we care about people and we’ve ensured we have a wealth of benefits that focus on your well-being. We regularly review our benefits to ensure we are supporting our employees appropriately. Currently, we offer technically stretching work, a competitive salary and;.

• Partially remote working patterns (partially in the office, partially at home) and options for 30 days remote working a year (from another country)
• Wellbeing support through Apps such as Unmind and an Employee Assistance Programme
• 25 days annual leave, rising to 27 days after 5 years service (plus optional holiday purchase)
• Pension scheme (various options available including employer contribution matching up to 7%)
• Private Medical Insurance
• 22 weeks paid maternity leave and 6 weeks paid paternity leave (once relevant service requirements complete)
• Train Ticket loan (interest-free)
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Free shuttle bus to and from Hatfield Train Station to the Hatfield offices
• Opportunity to participate in Sharesave and Buy as You Earn share schemes
• 15% discount on Ocado.com and free delivery for all employees
• Income Protection (can be up to 50% of salary for 3 years) and Life Assurance (3 x annual salary)

We also have regular divisional socials, sports clubs not to mention the Ocado Technology Academy for a packed schedule of courses, conferences and events. If you think you have what it takes to make a difference, please submit your application below.

Join our talent community!

Our Talent Community is a great way to stay up-to-date with our latest career opportunities, as well as news and relevant careers insights. Register today, and be the first to be notified when a role we think you’d be perfect for becomes available.

Be bold, be unique, be brilliant, be you. We are looking for individuality and we value diversity. We are an equal opportunities employer and we are committed to treating all applicants and employees fairly and equally. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments to provide a positive, barrier-free recruitment process and supportive work environment. If you have any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of application.

We are thrilled to welcome applicants from across the world. Whilst we are able to offer visa sponsorship, please note that we are only able to cover costs relating to the Certificate of Sponsorship and the Immigration Skills Charge only. For all employment offers made for UK roles, it is expected that you will be based in the UK in commutable distance, ready for your first day of work, so please keep this in mind. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Due to the energising nature of Ocado's business, vacancy close dates, when stated, are indicative and may be subject to change so please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. If you have applied and been rejected for this role in the last 6 months, or applied and been rejected for a role with a similar skill set, we will not re-evaluate you for this position. After 6 months, we will treat your application as a new one. All benefits information is subject to change and the terms of the individual arrangements. Please assume you have been unsuccessful if you haven’t heard from us within 4 weeks

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