Senior Autonomy Engineer

About the role

The Senior Autonomy Engineer will design and implement the autonomy stack that powers adaptive multi-vehicle orchestration. This role focuses on mission planning, path generation, behavior execution, and task allocation across heterogeneous fleets.

Responsibilities

• Design and implement autonomy modules including path planning, task allocation, behavior trees, and reactive execution models.
• Develop and maintain the autonomy framework that integrates with orchestration (AI-driven mission planning) and world modeling.
• Ensure AI-generated plans are executable, explainable, and safe across multi-domain robotic platforms.
• Implement and validate navigation, control, and autonomy behaviors for UAVs, USVs, and UUVs using ROS2 and simulation environments.
• Profile and optimize autonomy performance for edge compute hardware (Jetson, Raspberry Pi-class devices).
• Conduct simulation-in-loop and hardware-in-loop testing to validate autonomy behaviors before live field deployment.
• Contribute to safety, reliability, and compliance practices for autonomy in defense-relevant missions.
• Collaborate across AI, networking, and systems engineering teams to ensure seamless orchestration of multi-vehicle operations.

Requirements

• 6+ years experience developing autonomy or robotics systems.
• Proficiency in C++ and Python for real-time autonomy development.
• Strong hands-on experience with ROS2 and robotics middleware.
• Background in motion planning, navigation, and control systems.
• Experience with state estimation, sensor fusion, and autonomy validation.
• Familiarity with behavior trees, task allocation, or symbolic planners.
• Knowledge of simulation environments (Gazebo, Isaac Sim, AirSim, or equivalent).
• U.S. Citizenship with ability to obtain a clearance.

Qualifications

• Experience with multi-agent coordination and swarm robotics.
• Exposure to autonomous vehicle domains (UAVs, UUVs, USVs).
• Familiarity with MAVLink, JAUS, or STANAG 4586 protocols.
• Background in AI planning, reinforcement learning, or constraint solvers.
• Experience optimizing autonomy for embedded/real-time performance.
• Prior exposure to defense or aerospace autonomy systems.
• Contributions to open-source robotics or autonomy projects.

Skills & Attributes

• Systems thinker: able to connect autonomy layers with AI reasoning and orchestration.
• Strong problem-solving and debugging skills in both simulation and field environments.
• Cross-disciplinary collaborator, comfortable working with AI, networking, and data engineering teams.
• Thrives in ambiguous, mission-driven problem spaces.
• Detail-oriented and safety-focused, with commitment to reliable autonomy in critical missions.