Senior Staff Engineer, Autonomy Capabilities – Maritime (R5363)

Job description

Job responsibilities

• Robust Motion Planning – Automate unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and/or unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) maneuvering through advanced motion planning and adherence to safety constraints including keep-out volumes,…
• Localization and Tracking – Employ cutting edge approaches for passive and active localization by defining fusion modalities, sensor requirements, and observability-aware maneuvering capabilities to maximize…
• Safe Maritime Operations – Keep vehicle safety as a central focus within autonomous behavior architectures to provide run-time assurance, ensure COLREGS adherence, and build operator trust in advanced mission autonomy
• Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Collaboration – Develop distributed optimization and task allocation approaches for heterogenous teaming in order to accomplish mission objectives by maximally utilizing the diverse…
• Rigorous Software Development – Develop high-performance software modules that are well-tested, have clear interfaces and span-of-control, and are ready for mid-to-high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) insertions
• Cross-Functional Collaboration – Collaborate with cross-functional teams including perception, planning, simulation, hardware, and operational test to ensure seamless integration of autonomy solutions on real-world…
• Deployment & Test Support – Deploy autonomy capabilities to real surface vehicles, supporting integration and demonstration events as well as analysis of mission logs to verify software performance and validate system…
• R&D and Road-mapping – Contribute to autonomy roadmaps by researching and prototyping new algorithms, identifying tactical capability gaps, and proposing novel solutions that advance Shield AI’s mission

Job requirements

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree, or equivalent practical experience
• Typically requires a minimum of 10 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree; or 9 years and a Master’s degree; or 7 years with a PhD; or equivalent work experience.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as C++ and Python, and familiarity with real-time operating systems (RTOS).
• Significant background in robotics technologies related to motion planning, behavior modeling, decision-making, or autonomous system design.
• Significant experience with unmanned system technologies and accompanying algorithms (ideally in the space domain specifically)
• Experience with simulation tools and environments (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS) for testing and validation.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to troubleshoot and optimize system performance.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to work effectively in a collaborative, multidisciplinary environment.