Autonomous Vehicle Engineer III

Textron Inc.; Cockeysville (MD); On-site; USD 124,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible schedules

Education assistance

Career development

Wellness program

Health benefits

Job summary

Textron Systems in Hunt Valley, Maryland, seeks a mid-level Autonomy Engineer to develop and integrate autonomous capabilities for defense systems across air, land, maritime and weapons domains. You will turn mission needs into implementable autonomy designs and work across the autonomy stack to define interfaces and performance measures.

You will collaborate with software, hardware, controls, robotics, navigation, test and customer teams, performing analysis, prototyping and formal testing to

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline as listed in the qualifications.
• 4 years of professional experience in autonomous, robotic, or highly automated systems.
• Experience with system or software architecture and interface definition.
• Experience with sensing, perception, inference, state estimation, or sensor fusion.
• Ability to document designs, analyses, and technical plans clearly.

Responsibilities

• Lead development and realization of autonomous system capabilities from analysis to test.
• Evaluate technologies for product roadmaps and applicability.
• Translate missions into autonomy functions, performance metrics, and requirements.
• Conduct trade studies, simulations, experiments, and prototype assessments.
• Collaborate across engineering teams and with customers on programs.

Skills

Autonomy engineering

Robotics systems

Machine learning

System architecture

Python

C/C++

MBSE

Edge processing

Education

Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, robotics, aerospace or mechanical engineering

Tools

ROS 2

MATLAB/Simulink

Python

C/C++

Gazebo

Unreal/Unity

Job description

Autonomous Vehicle Engineer III

Description

Who We Are

Textron Systems is part of Textron, a $14 billion, multi-industry company employing 35,000 talented makers, thinkers, creators and doers worldwide. We make things that fly, hover, zoom and launch. Things that move people. Protect soldiers. Power industries. We serve customers in industries spanning aerospace and defense, specialized vehicles, turf care and fuel systems.

This role is in Textron System’s Sea, Air & Land Systems business area. Visit TextronSystems.com & Lycoming.com to read more about who we are and the products we make!

About This Role

We are seeking a mid-level Autonomy Engineer to help develop and integrate autonomous capabilities for defense systems operating across air, land, maritime, and weapons domains to include multi-domain environments. This role is well suited to an engineer who combines practical system and project execution experience with a strong interest in the technologies that enable intelligent, mission-focused behavior.

As an Autonomy Engineer, you will help turn mission needs and operational concepts into implementable autonomy designs. You will work across the autonomy stack, capturing designs, defining interfaces, decomposing functions, evaluating technology insertions, and supporting integration into real systems that perform in operationally relevant environments.

You will collaborate with software, hardware, controls, robotics, navigation, human factors, test, program, and customer teams. The work will include both disciplined engineering of existing capabilities and exploration of new concepts, tools, and methods.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and realization of autonomous system capabilities through analysis, prototyping, design, integration, demonstrations and formal test activities.

• Identify and evaluate emerging technologies and concepts for applicability in product designs and capability roadmaps.

• Translate mission objectives, operational concepts, scenarios, and constraints into autonomy functions, behaviors, performance measures, and testable technical objectives and requirements.

• Conduct trade studies, structured evaluations, experiments, modeling and simulation, and prototype assessments to compare technology approaches against measurable operational and technical criteria.

• Contribute to project engineering activities such as technical planning, estimates, schedules, risks, dependencies, work products, reviews, and coordination across technical teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, robotics, aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, or a related technical discipline.

• 4 years of professional experience developing, integrating, testing, evaluating, or fielding autonomous, robotic, intelligent, or highly automated systems.

• Demonstrated experience contributing to system or software architecture, functional decomposition, interface definition, design documentation, or technical baselines for complex systems.

• Applied design and evaluation experience in the following areas: sensing, perception, inference, state estimation, machine learning, behavior development, task planning, simulations, multi-agent teaming, and edge processing.

• Experience using structured engineering methods to evaluate designs or technologies through analysis, simulation, experimentation, testing, or operationally relevant demonstrations.

• Ability to develop and communicate technical concepts clearly through design documents, diagrams, briefings/presentations, trade studies, test plans, and technical recommendations.

• Experience with defense systems, mission planning, command and control, navigation, electronic warfare, communications, weapons, or autonomous platform integration.

• Experience with perception or estimation technologies such as computer vision, radar, lidar, electro-optical or infrared sensing, probabilistic inference, tracking, mapping, or sensor fusion.

• Experience with machine learning development or deployment, including data preparation, model evaluation, edge inference, robustness, or performance monitoring.

• Experience in the design and evaluation of agentic architectures.

• Experience with ROS 2, MATLAB/Simulink, Python, C , Rust, JavaScript, TypeScript, Gazebo, Unreal, Unity, or other robotics, simulation, autonomy, and software development environments.

• Experience in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) tools and methods.

• Project engineering experience with planning, tracking, risk and action item management.

• Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. Security Clearance.

How We Care

• - Flexible Work Schedules
• - Education Assistance
• - Career Development & Training Opportunities
• - Wellness Program (including Fitness Reimbursement)
• - Medical, Dental, Vision & 401(K) with Company Funding
• - Paid Parental Leave

Are you a Military Veteran?

Textron's products and services are trusted everyday by those who protect our country. We are dedicated to hiring these Veterans and aim to translate their skills to make an impact on our Company.

Textron’s compensation package includes competitive base pay and provides eligible employees with benefit programs. Benefits may include health insurance and prescription plan coverage, dental insurance, family building benefits, vision insurance, mental health resources, flexible spending accounts, health savings accounts, retirement savings plans, life and disability insurance programs, and programs that provide employees time away from work. The pay range should be used as a general guide only. Compensation is based upon candidate experience and qualifications, as well as market and business considerations.

In compliance with the local pay transparency law, the pay range for this position is

$124,300 - $189,700 per year.

AI Readiness: Textron expects employees to use AI-enabled tools responsibly and effectively. Candidates should be comfortable learning and applying these tools, evaluating AI-generated output with sound judgment, and using AI in line with company policy and ethical standards. Prior experience with specific tools is not required — we value curiosity, adaptability, and good judgment.

EEO Statement

Textron is committed to providing Equal Opportunity in Employment, to all applicants and employees regardless of race, color, religion, age, national origin, military status, veteran status, disability, sex (including pregnancy and sexual orientation), genetic information or any other characteristic protected by law.

Recruiting Company: Textron Systems
Primary Location: US-Maryland-Hunt Valley
Job Function: Engineering
Schedule: Full-time
Job Level: Individual Contributor
Job Type: Experienced
Shift: First Shift
Travel: Yes, 25 % of the Time