Autonomy Engineer, State Estimation & Control

About BRINC

At BRINC, we are redefining public safety with an innovative ecosystem of life-saving tools. Our journey started with the development of drones and ruggedized throw phones, designed to access unsafe areas and establish communication to de-escalate situations. Today, we've expanded into creating and deploying 911 response networks, where drones are dispatched to 911 calls to provide real-time visual data, enhancing safety and enabling de-escalation-focused responses. Our cutting-edge solutions are utilized by over 600 public safety agencies across America and the company has raised over $150M from investors, including Index Ventures, Motorola Solutions, Sam Altman, Dylan Field, Mike Volpe, Alexandr Wang and more. At BRINC, we are committed to recruiting the world's best talent to join us in our mission to support first responders in saving lives.

About This Role

We are seeking an Autonomy Engineer to join our team and advance the reliability and resiliency of our UAV state estimation & control systems. You will design, implement, and optimize real-time algorithms that enable the drone to localize itself and maintain stability while moving through the world. In this role, you will work with sensor fusion algorithms (EKFs, factor graphs, VIO), and fast real-time control loops. You will collaborate closely with navigation, embedded software, and hardware teams to bring next-generation solutions into production UAV platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Research and design algorithms enabling UAV state estimation and control.
• Implement and optimize real-time estimation & control algorithms on embedded processors for computational efficiency and system resiliency.
• Validate estimation and control performance through simulation, log replay, hardware-in-the-loop, and real-world flight testing in a variety of conditions.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration.
• Contribute to technical strategy, define best practices, and help guide the evolution of the estimation and control stack as systems scale and mature.

Qualifications

• PhD in Computer Science or a related field, or a Master's degree with a minimum of 2+ years of industry experience.
• Strong programming skills in C++ and Python, with experience developing software for real physical systems.
• Solid understanding of estimation and control fundamentals (EKFs, state feedback control).

Preferred Skills

• Familiarity with modern sensor fusion approaches such as factor graphs.
• Familiarity with robust or adaptive control.
• Experience with ROS2, PX4, MAVSDK, and/or similar robotics middleware.
• Familiarity with safety-critical or certifiable software practices (a plus).
• Background in UAV reliability, redundancy, and autonomous flight considerations.
• Experience with ROS, PX4, MAVSDK, and/or similar robotics middleware.

BRINC Culture

• Try the hard stuff
• Be innovative - Invent the future
• Move fast
• Listen to end-users
• Strive for excellence
• Don’t build a dystopia
• Be frugal
• Save lives through technology

BRINC Culture Values

• Try the hard stuff
• Be innovative - Invent the future
• Move fast
• Listen to end-users
• Strive for excellence
• Don’t build a dystopia
• Be frugal
• Save lives through technology