R&D Engineer – Autonomous Systems

About the role

We are searching for an Autonomous Systems R&D Engineer to join the Tactical & Autonomous Processing Department within the Guidance and Control Technologies (GCT) Division at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. This Department’s mission is to develop, analyze, and deliver tactical processing capabilities for the autonomous, intelligent control of undersea systems, and research new capabilities and designs for future autonomous systems. This department serves as a leading resource for the undersea systems community in situational awareness, guidance and control, and autonomous decision-making.

ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

Responsibilities

• Design algorithms for vehicle guidance and control in an undersea environment, including signal processing, detection, classification, tracking, and autonomous decision-making
• Analyze multi-sensor data to evaluate system performance
• Design, implement, integrate, and test software to demonstrate guidance and control algorithms
• Collaborate and communicate with a team of peers
• Document work through reports and presentations
• Plan and execute programs advancing autonomous capabilities for current and future applications

Additional responsibilities for higher-level position includes:

• Investigate and evaluate applicability of theories and practices to the development of guidance and control systems
• Direct and/or participate in major proposal preparation and presentation

Requirements

Minimum Education, Work Experience & Required Certifications

• R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Principal Professional
  • Bachelor’s Degree – Engineering or Science
  • 19+ years of relevant experience
  • Required Certifications: None
• R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Advanced Professional
  • Bachelor’s Degree – Engineering or Science
  • 5+ years of relevant experience
  • Required Certifications: None
• R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Senior Professional
  • Bachelor’s Degree – Engineering or Science
  • 14+ years of relevant experience
  • Required Certifications: None

Skills

Required Skills/Experience areas include:

• Algorithm development and analysis spanning data fusion, object tracking and classification, and/or autonomous decision-making
• Strong written, oral, and interpersonal communication skills demonstrated through successful proposal writing, project reports and/or presentations, and team projects
• Willingness and ability to travel to represent ongoing programs with sponsors and support test events

Preferred Skills/Experience areas include:

• Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Applied Mathematics, Physics, or Data Science
• Proven ability to advance autonomy concepts from research to application through design, integration, and test phases
• Experience collaborating in multi-disciplinary teams for development and implementation of guidance and control capabilities
• Object-oriented software design using MATLAB, Python, and/or C++
• Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Secret level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility, if required

Benefits

Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional well-being. In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans and substantial paid time off which includes holidays, vacation and sick time. One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.