Senior Software Engineer, Autonomy Behaviors (R4588)
Develops tactical autonomy software for unmanned platforms across air, land, sea, and space domains, implementing behaviors for multi-agent coordination, target engagement, and survivability. Requires 5+ years in autonomy/robotics, production C++, and BS/MS/PhD in related field.
About the job
What You'll Do
- Develop tactical autonomy software to enable unmanned platforms to perform complex missions across air, land, sea, and space domains with limited human supervision
- Implement and test behaviors supporting multi-agent coordination, target engagement, reconnaissance, and survivability in contested scenarios
- Contribute across the software development lifecycle, including requirements, design, implementation, verification, and validation, following established engineering best practices
- Collaborate with senior engineers to design and build scalable, maintainable software components that integrate with broader system architecture (e.g., sensor processing, state estimation, communications, and actuation)
- Support reuse and extensibility of autonomy behaviors by contributing to shared frameworks and codebases
- Work with internal product and program teams to deliver capabilities to vehicle platforms, helping ensure successful integration and iteration over time
- Collaborate with cross-functional and external teams to align on interfaces and system requirements
- Apply strong software engineering fundamentals to solve complex technical problems, while continuing to grow domain expertise in autonomy and robotics systems
- Travel up to 20% to support integration, testing, and collaboration with end-users and partner teams
Required Qualifications
- BS/MS/PhD in Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, Mechanical Engineering, or a related field
- Proficient in production-level C++ software development
- 5+ years' experience in one or more of the following: software sub-system scheduling and integration, behavior planning, task and resource allocation, motion planning, optimization, or flight controls
- Experience with collaborative software development tools for version control, issue tracking, code reviews, release management
- Ability to contribute to the design, development, and integration of complex software systems as part of a multi-disciplinary team
- Demonstrated problem-solving skills and ability to learn new technologies in a fast-paced environment
- Willingness to collaborate closely with teammates and support team objectives
- Interest in growing technical skills and, over time, providing guidance to more junior engineers
- Desire to work in a highly collaborative, fast paced, and mission-driven environment
- Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance
Preferred Qualifications
- Experience working with systems at one or more technology readiness levels (TRLs), including supporting the maturation of research concepts toward operational use
- Experience with mission systems integration, including participation in integration events, testing, or demonstrations
- Experience in one or more of the following areas:
- Collaborative mission planning, behavior planning, or coordinated teaming
- Motion planning across different vehicle types or constraints
- Sensor/target pairing, control strategies, or related autonomy functions
- Safety systems such as collision avoidance or geofencing
- Experience with robotic software ecosystems (e.g., ROS, OMPL, optimization tools)
- Experience with simulation tools for testing and validation
- Familiarity with navigation and communications systems
- Experience contributing to portions of the product development lifecycle
- Familiarity with systems engineering principles
- Familiarity with high-assurance software practices (e.g., DO-178C or similar standards)
Skills
C++, ROS, Ompl, Motion Planning, Behavior Planning, Optimization, Simulation Tools, Do-178C, Version Control, Code Reviews
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