Senior Research Engineer I

About the role

The System Offices is one of several system members within the Texas A&M University System, representing one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation. The mission is to provide education, conduct research, commercialize technology, offer training, and deliver services for the people of Texas and beyond.

Responsibilities

• Architects and implements the core frameworks for multi-agent coordination, setting the standard for modularity, performance, and scalability across all BCDC autonomy stacks.
• Conducts targeted background research in unfamiliar technical domains to scope emerging problems and develop initial proof-of-concept prototypes, accelerating the team's ability to adopt new methodologies.
• Acts as a primary developer for the most complex algorithmic challenges, producing high-performance, robust code (Python/C++) for embedded hardware and ROS2 middleware.
• Drives the development of cross-platform communication and shared situational awareness architectures, ensuring the seamless integration of air and ground assets.
• Serves as a technical authority on the evolution of the autonomy stacks, identifying and implementing emerging technologies that enhance multi-agent performance.
• Directs the design of multi-level simulation environments, ensuring they accurately reflect the complexities of field deployment for heterogeneous fleets.
• Architects integrated hardware-software systems, conducting technical trade studies to select sensor suites and compute platforms that optimize mission-level capabilities.
• Oversees the system-level integration of ROS2 nodes across complex platforms, including autonomous helicopters and robotic ground vehicles, to ensure hardware-software synergy.
• Leads high-stakes System Experimentation and Field Testing at the RELLIS campus, serving as the technical lead for large-scale demonstrations and ensuring mission success.
• Analyzes complex field data to generate system-level requirements and performance metrics, closing the loop between experimental results and future development cycles.
• Serves as a technical authority on the evolution of the autonomy stacks, identifying and implementing emerging technologies that enhance multi-agent performance.
• Mentors research staff through high-level design reviews and collaborative implementation, elevating the-technical standard of the entire development group.
• Translates high-level mission objectives and guidance from senior staff into robust system architectures and actionable development roadmaps.
• Collaborates with faculty and senior staff to identify and pursue new research opportunities, lead the development of technical proposals, and identify strategic funding trajectories for the autonomy group.
• Leads the generation of high-impact technical reports, presentations, and peer-reviewed publications.

Requirements

• Master’s degree in applicable field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Six years of related experience.
• Experience prototyping architectures for decentralized communication frameworks, with the ability to select and implement middleware solutions for varying mission requirements.
• Experience identifying funding opportunities and contributing to the development of technical proposals for research sponsors.

Qualifications

• Must be able to obtain a U.S. Department of War Security Clearance.

Skills

• Advanced knowledge of system architecture for multi-agent robotics and distributed autonomous systems.
• Ability to conduct technical scouting and scoping for novel research challenges in unfamiliar domains.
• Capability to develop system-wide frameworks and support technical continuity across multiple projects.
• Strong ability to bridge the gap between academic research (papers/theory) and field-deployable code.
• Familiarity with or exposure to leading System Experimentation and Field Testing for complex, multi-vehicle missions.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, with the capability to represent technical achievements to sponsors and research partners.
• A desire or capacity to mentor staff and contribute to long-term technical roadmaps for an autonomy team.
• Strategic thinking regarding technology transition and scaling.
• Ability to multi-task and work cooperatively with others.

Benefits

Salary $6,251.00 - $10,000.00 per month commensurate with experience. The System Offices provides an outstanding benefits package including, but not limited to: competitive health benefits; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; a defined benefit retirement plan to include an employer contribution through Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS); if applicable, a defined contribution retirement plan to include an employer contribution through an approved ORP vendor: additional voluntary tax deferred annuity (TDA) options; tuition assistance; and wellness programs to promote work/life balance.