Hello ROS Community!
I’m Alejandro Hernández Cordero (@ahcorde), and I’m happy to share that the ROS PMC has selected me as the new ROS project lead. It’s an honor to take on this role for a project that has shaped so much of my career.
First, a big thank you to Michael Carroll (@mjcarroll). He took on the interim role at a moment of change, shipped Kilted and Lyrical, and worked with the TGC to define what the project lead role should look like. That work made this transition possible, and I’m grateful to be building on the foundation he left.
A bit about me: I wrote my first ROS node in 2012 for my master’s final project, and I never really left. I spent several years at Open Robotics maintaining ROS 2 core packages and the ROS 2 and Gazebo integration, and today I’m at Honu Robotics, where I see every day what it takes to bring ROS from a prototype to a real product. A lot of what I know about ROS I learned in review threads, from people all over the world, and that collaborative spirit is something I want to protect and grow.
What I’ll be working on:
- Shipping ROS 2 Makoa Mata-mata on World Turtle Day, May 23, 2027, with a release process that is predictable and easy to follow.
- Growing the maintainer base, so ROS doesn’t depend on a handful of people, and making the path from first contribution to maintainer clearer.
- Keeping ROS and Gazebo working smoothly together, from simulation to real robots.
- Working with OSRA members, the TGC and the PMC on the project’s priorities, and making sure the community’s voice is part of those decisions.
How you can help: join a PMC meeting (observers are welcome, and the minutes are public), get involved with a working group, or pick up an issue on GitHub. Reviewing pull requests, improving documentation and answering questions are just as valuable as writing code. Discourse and Discord are great places to start a conversation, and if you’re not sure where to begin, ask, and we’ll help you find a good fit.
My door is open. Reach out on Discourse, GitHub (ahcorde (Alejandro Hernández Cordero) · GitHub) or LinkedIn (Alejandro Hernández Cordero - Intrinsic | LinkedIn) with ideas, questions or concerns. I’d especially like to hear from people using ROS in production, in research and in the classroom about what’s working and what isn’t.
Let’s keep building!
Alejandro Hernández Cordero