AI Autonomy Engineering SME (UAS, SWARMING, C2, DRONES)

General Dynamics IT; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

General Dynamics IT seeks an AI Autonomy Engineering SME (UAS) to shape autonomous systems for mission-critical Defense programs. You will design and implement autonomy for swarming, C2, and distributed decision-making, integrating with DoD C2 environments.

The role requires deep technical leadership, DoD cybersecurity compliance, and hands-on development of edge AI, simulation, and field testing across DoD platforms.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer/Robotics or related STEM field; advanced degree preferred.
• 15+ years of engineering experience in AI/ML, robotics, UAS autonomy, or multi-agent systems.
• Demonstrated experience developing autonomy capabilities for unmanned or robotic platforms.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain autonomy algorithms and pipelines—from sensor ingestion to real-time decision-making.
• Engineer resilient, scalable autonomy stacks for UAS fleets and multi-vehicle teams.
• Oversee deployment, monitoring, tuning, and sustainment of autonomy systems.

Skills

AI/ML

Robotics

UAS autonomy

Multi-agent systems

Real-time systems

C++

Python

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical/Computer/Robotics or related STEM

Tools

ROS/ROS2

MAVLink

PX4/ArduPilot

Gazebo

AirSim

FlightGoggles

NVIDIA Jetson

TensorFlow

PyTorch

JAX

ONNX

Kubernetes

Terraform

Job description

Type of Requisition:

Regular

Clearance Level Must Currently Possess:

Top Secret

Clearance Level Must Be Able to Obtain:

Top Secret/SCI

Public Trust/Other Required:

None

Job Family:

Data Science and Data Engineering

Job Qualifications:

Skills:

Artificial Intelligence (AI), Automation Systems, Data Link, Sensor Fusion

Unmanned System Certifications:

None

Experience:

15 + years of related experience

US Citizenship Required:

Yes

Job Description:

AI AUTONOMY ENGINEERING SME (UAS, SWARMING, C2, DRONES)

Transform technology into operational autonomy.

As an AI Autonomy Engineering SME at GDIT, you will shape the future of autonomous systems for mission‑critical Defense initiatives. Your work will directly support the Defense CTO's autonomy and AI/ML modernization mission-advancing next‑generation unmanned systems, swarming behaviors, distributed decision‑making, and intelligent C2 architectures.

This role combines deep technical expertise, domain knowledge in UAS/drone operations, and leadership in delivering resilient, scalable autonomy solutions across DoD environments.

MEANINGFUL WORK AND IMPACT

Lead Autonomy Architecture & System Design

• Design, architect, and implement autonomy capabilities for UAS, drone swarms, robotic platforms, and C2 ecosystems.
• Develop real‑time decision‑making algorithms for navigation, sensor fusion, cooperative behaviors, target recognition, and mission execution.
• Engineer multi‑agent coordination frameworks enabling distributed tasking, decentralized control, and swarm intelligence.

Edge AI & Distributed Processing

• Design and deploy AI/ML models onto embedded edge processors, ruggedized compute payloads, and resource‑constrained autonomous platforms.
• Optimize models for real‑time inference, low‑latency decision loops, and contested or degraded communication environments.

Simulation, Modeling & Autonomy Validation

• Build and manage large‑scale autonomy simulation environments (e.g., ROS/ROS2, Gazebo, AirSim, custom physics environments).
• Conduct modeling, simulation, and digital‑twin validation to assess behavior, safety, and mission effectiveness.
• Execute hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HIL) and flight testing with UAS payloads and autonomy stacks.

C2 System Integration & Operational Workflows

• Integrate autonomous platforms with DoD C2 systems, tactical networks, and mission‑planning tools.
• Develop APIs and data interfaces supporting observability, command execution, and human‑machine teaming.
• Ensure autonomy behaviors align with CONOPS, TTPs, and operational constraints.

Security, Compliance & Survivability

• Apply DoD cybersecurity controls for autonomous systems, including secure comms, encrypted payloads, and AI model protection.
• Engineer autonomy solutions resilient to GPS denial, EW threats, adversarial conditions, and sensor degradation.

Leadership, Mentorship & Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead and mentor a team of AI/ML, robotics, and software engineers.
• Collaborate with program leaders, operators, mission owners, and technical authorities.
• Communicate complex autonomy concepts to both technical and non‑technical stakeholders.

Innovation & R&D

• Evaluate emerging autonomy technologies (reinforcement learning, cooperative SLAM, onboard LLM agents, adaptive swarming behaviors).
• Drive rapid experimentation and prototyping to accelerate fieldable capability.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO SUCCEED

Education

Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or similar STEM discipline (advanced degree preferred).

Experience

15+ years of engineering experience, including significant work in AI/ML, robotics, UAS autonomy, or multi‑agent systems.

Demonstrated experience developing autonomy capabilities for unmanned or robotic platforms (Defense, commercial, aerospace, or research environments).

Technical Expertise

Autonomy algorithms: motion planning, path optimization, obstacle avoidance, mapping/SLAM, swarming, multi‑agent coordination.

AI/ML frameworks: PyTorch, TensorFlow, JAX, ONNX.

Robotics frameworks: ROS/ROS2, MAVLink, PX4/ArduPilot, custom autonomy stacks.

Simulation: Gazebo, AirSim, FlightGoggles, or equivalent.

Edge compute: NVIDIA Jetson, VPUs, tactical compute nodes, embedded Linux.

Distributed systems & C2 integration: data links, tactical protocols, mesh networks, publish/subscribe architectures.

Software engineering: Python, C++, real‑time systems, containerization, DevSecOps, CI/CD pipelines.

Cloud/cluster orchestration: Kubernetes, Helm, GitLab CI, ArgoCD.

IaC: Terraform, Pulumi, Ansible.

AI/ML system security and DoD cybersecurity compliance.

Clearance Requirements

U.S. Citizenship required

Top Secret required with the ability to obtain and maintain a TS/SCI

ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES

• Develop and maintain autonomy algorithms and pipelines-from sensor ingestion to real‑time decision‑making.
• Engineer resilient, scalable autonomy stacks for UAS fleets and multi‑vehicle teams.
• Oversee deployment, monitoring, tuning, and sustainmen