Autonomy Engineering Team Lead

SYOS Aerospace; Auckland; On-site; NZD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

SYOS Aerospace seeks an Autonomy Engineering Team Lead to guide a 7–10 engineer team working on autonomy, robotics, software, ML, CV and GNC systems. You will lead across disciplines, build a high-performing culture and drive delivery with multiple programmes.

The role focuses on leadership, mentorship and technical alignment rather than hands-on depth in every domain. You will partner with GNC, Software, Systems, Mechatronics, Electronics and Flight Test teams to tackle complex autonomy

Qualifications

• Proven experience leading and developing engineering teams.
• Experience with multidisciplinary teams across GNC, autonomy, machine learning, computer vision, robotics or embedded systems.
• Strong understanding of how autonomous systems are developed, integrated and tested.
• Experience with UAV, UGV or USV platforms is a great starting point.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a team of autonomy engineers.
• Build a high-performing, collaborative engineering culture.
• Set goals, manage performance and support career development.
• Plan workload, priorities and delivery across multiple programmes.
• Partner with GNC, Software, Systems, Mechatronics, Electronics and Flight Test leaders.
• Provide direction and support on complex autonomy and integration challenges.
• Drive best practices, ways of working and continuous improvement across the autonomy team.
• Help develop the capability, structure and technical maturity of the team as SYOS scales.
• Encourage engineers to explore new technologies and bring big ideas into real-world systems.

Skills

Leadership

Autonomy engineering

Robotics

Cross-functional teamwork

Communication

Stakeholder management

Tools

ROS/ROS2

PX4

ArduPilot

C++

Python

Job description

At SYOS Aerospace, we're building the next generation of autonomous systems across air, land and sea. We're looking for an Autonomy Engineering Team Lead to lead and grow a team of around 7–10 engineers working across autonomy, robotics, software, machine learning, computer vision and GNC-related systems.

This is a people leadership role with strong autonomy awareness. You don't need to be the deepest technical expert in every discipline - we're looking for someone who understands the world of autonomous systems, robotics and GNC, knows how multidisciplinary engineering teams work, and can bring people together to deliver.

What you'll do

• Lead, coach and develop a team of 7–10 autonomy engineers.
• Build a high-performing, collaborative engineering culture.
• Set goals, manage performance and support career development.
• Plan workload, priorities and delivery across multiple programmes.
• Partner closely with GNC, Software, Systems, Mechatronics, Electronics and Flight Test technical leaders.
• Provide direction and support on complex autonomy and integration challenges.
• Drive best practices, ways of working and continuous improvement across the autonomy team.
• Help develop the capability, structure and technical maturity of the team as SYOS scales.
• Encourage engineers to explore new technologies and bring big ideas into real-world systems.
• Support technical leaders without needing to be the hands-on expert in every domain.

What we're looking for

• Proven experience leading and developing engineering teams.
• Background in autonomy engineering, robotics, software, mechatronics or a closely related field.
• Experience working with multidisciplinary teams across areas such as GNC, autonomy, machine learning, computer vision, robotics or embedded systems.
• A strong understanding of how autonomous systems are developed, integrated and tested.
• Experience with UAV, UGV or USV platforms is a great starting point.
• Comfortable working alongside technical specialists and learning new technical domains.
• Strong communication, problem-solving and stakeholder management skills.
• A genuine interest in autonomous technology and emerging engineering disciplines.

Nice to have

• Experience in machine learning, computer vision or perception.
• Exposure to GNC, navigation, sensor fusion or autonomous decision-making.
• Experience with ROS/ROS2, PX4, ArduPilot, C++ or Python.
• Experience taking autonomous systems from development through testing and deployment.
• Aerospace, defence, robotics, maritime or advanced technology experience.

The SYOS Mindset

You'll be joining a team where you can lead from the front, work with brilliant technical people and help shape how autonomy is built at SYOS.

You don't need to know everything. You need to understand the world we're building, bring people together, ask the right questions and create an environment where great engineering happens.