Real-time Communication and Media Software Engineer

Job Role: Real-time Communication and Media Software Engineer

Location: Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai

Job Category: Project Research Staff

About the project:

The Government-funded project focuses on the development and demonstration of drone and allied technologies. With applications spanning various sectors, the initiative leverages advanced technologies and infrastructure. It aims to foster strong industry-academia collaborations to address real-world challenges and drive innovation. Comprehensive training programs are an integral component, ensuring awareness and proficiency in drone operations.

Institute:

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, Mumbai

Qualification and Key Skills Required:

• PhD with relevant experience OR
• MTech / ME or equivalent with relevant experience OR
• BTech / BE or equivalent with relevant experience.
• Strong experience working with real-time media and data communication and control protocols including RTMP, WebSockets, RTSP, HLS, WHIP/WHEP and related streaming technologies
• Core understanding of WebRTC API (libwebrtc, pion/webrtc, or similar low-level implementations)
• Strong understanding of media codecs including H264, H265/HEVC, VP8, VP9, AV1, Opus, AAC and similar compression standards
• Experience with media processing frameworks and libraries such as FFmpeg, GStreamer, or OpenCV for video/audio manipulation
• Knowledge of security protocols and encryption standards for secure media transmission
• Knowledge of network protocols and optimisation techniques including TCP/UDP, HTTP/2, QUIC, and related
• Experience with embedded systems programming and real-time operating systems (RTOS)
• Experience working with traditional web/native technologies including RESTful API development, GraphQL, microservice architecture, containerization (Docker/Kubernetes), and cloud platforms (AWS/GCP/Azure) including database (SQL/NoSQL) and caching (Redis)
• Proficiency in multiple programming languages including JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, C/C++, Go, Kotlin for diverse development requirements
• Previous experience with Go (GoLang) is highly preferred
• Strong working knowledge of high-level architecture development, design patterns, and code quality standards

Job Profile:

• Implement Media and Data Streaming Service: Design, develop, and maintain scalable real-time streaming architecture for handling high-volume media transmission from drone fleets. Implement adaptive bitrate streaming algorithms specifically optimised for aerial vehicles operating in varying network conditions, including cellular, WiFi, and mesh networks. Develop custom communication implementation for drone-to-ground station data transmission, ensuring reliable telemetry data flow, ultra-low latency real-time video streaming, and command/control message delivery (sub-100ms)
• Build Cross-Platform Applications: Develop native client-side applications for multi-disciplinary platforms including mobile ground control stations, desktop flight planning software, and IoT edge devices for autonomous drone operations. Create unified drone communication interfaces across Android/iOS mobile apps for field operators, Windows/macOS/Linux desktop applications for mission control centers
• Quality of Service (QoS): Monitor, analyse, and develop solutions for streaming performance metrics including latency, jitter, packet loss, and bandwidth utilisation specifically in drone communication scenarios. Implement real-time network condition assessment for dynamic switching between communication channels (4G/5G/Dual-SIM/mesh)
• Drone-Specific Communication Implementations: Build mission-critical communication systems for a wide range of autonomous drone operations including emergency delivery, swarm, defence and IoT systems such as docking station, mobile ground control station.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams as per the project requirements.
• Any other work assigned as per requirements.