Autonomy Engineer - Underwater Robotics & Perception

University of Texas at Austin; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 89,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

The University of Texas at Austin's Applied Research Laboratories seeks a Robotics and Autonomy Engineer (ESA) to develop real-time autonomy and perception algorithms for uncrewed underwater vehicles, with field tests from lakes to oceans. Located at the Pickle Research Campus, this role spans implementation, testing, and transitioning capabilities to Navy sailors.

You will work in a collaborative team, apply ROS and ML techniques, and ensure robust software in Unix/Linux environments, with

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Robotics, Engineering, Computer Science, Math, or a related field.
• Experience with robotics or autonomous vehicles through coursework, internships, personal projects, or research (e.g., ROS, autonomy stacks, ML).
• Strong programming skills in Python and/or C/C++ (object-oriented).
• Comfortable working with Unix/Linux.

Responsibilities

• Develop autonomy algorithms that use sonar data for obstacle avoidance, aid multi-agent decision making, and dynamic replanning in complex underwater environments
• Design perception algorithms that increase vehicle situational awareness
• Analyze sonar and navigation data to identify algorithm improvements
• Test algorithms in water including local lake testing and field tests in the ocean, harbors, or rivers
• Collaboration on large projects with a high degree of ownership
• Document work to support knowledge transfer
• Other related functions as assigned

Skills

Robotics experience

Python

C/C++

Unix/Linux

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

ROS

Job description

The University of Texas at Austin's Applied Research Laboratories seeks a Robotics and Autonomy Engineer (ESA) to develop real-time autonomy and perception algorithms for uncrewed underwater vehicles, with field tests from lakes to oceans. Located at the Pickle Research Campus, this role spans implementation, testing, and transitioning capabilities to Navy sailors.

You will work in a collaborative team, apply ROS and ML techniques, and ensure robust software in Unix/Linux environments, with