Department Head, Autonomy and Emerging Technology (FACULTY)

The Pennsylvania State University; Ferguson Township (PA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

75% tuition discount

Robust retirement plans

Medical/dental/vision coverage

Job summary

The Pennsylvania State University’s Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) seeks a Department Head for Autonomy and Emerging Technology (AET) to lead autonomy research for unmanned undersea vehicles (UxVs). The role requires strategic direction, technical leadership, and collaboration with Navy sponsors and DoD partners.

Responsibilities include overseeing multi-disciplinary UxV programs, advancing autonomy architectures, mission planning, and environmental sensing, and mentoring engineers and

Qualifications

• Leadership of technical teams and programs
• Experience with autonomy for unmanned systems in maritime environments
• Familiarity with DoD security requirements and clearances

Responsibilities

• Provide technical leadership across autonomy, sensing, navigation and CONOPS
• Oversee multi-disciplinary, multi-vehicle UxV programs and portfolios
• Manage resources, facilities, and personnel for autonomy research
• Mentor engineers and researchers in undersea autonomy competencies
• Collaborate across ARL departments and with sponsors to shape research directions
• Interact with Navy sponsors and DoD collaborators to present results
• Represent ARL at autonomy and undersea systems conferences and reviews

Skills

Technical leadership

UxV autonomy

Autonomy architectures

Mission planning

Decision making

DevSecOps

Systems integration

Customer interaction

Education

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

UxV simulation

Navigation sensors

Job description

POSITION SPECIFICS

Your working location will be fully on-site located in State College, PA. This role requires periodic travel to remote locations.

Department Overview

The Systems and Emerging Capabilities Division in the Undersea Systems Office (USO) at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) is seeking a Department Head for Autonomy and Emerging Technology (AET). This department is an innovation hub for our Systems Engineering Division. The AET Department’s primary mission is to develop, test, and evaluate emerging capabilities in the Subsea and Seabed (SSW) mission area. It's secondary mission is to rapidly evaluate and field test new and emerging capabilities applicable to SSW – including testing of systems, payloads, and software.

This position may be filled as either a Research and Development Engineer or a non-tenure Research Faculty. Research areas include, but not limited to: Autonomy for Unmanned Vehicles (UxVs), including autonomy architectures, behaviors, mission planning, and autonomy standards that improve reliability, endurance, and mission effectiveness in challenging maritime environments. Payloads/payload delivery of effects Sensor/sensor integration Navigation ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply.

You will:

• Technical Leadership - Lead innovation in SSW mission area to include autonomy for UxVs, including adaptive mission behaviors, environmental awareness, distributed autonomy, multi-vehicle coordination, and integration of autonomy with UxV sensors and payloads.
• Drive advancements in UxV simulation, field testing, and fleet-relevant autonomy capabilities.
• Programmatic Leadership - Oversee SSW-focused UxV programs and multidisciplinary teams working across undersea navigation, endurance optimization, acoustic communications, environmental modeling, and autonomy-enabled CONOPS. Collaborate closely with ARL’s SSW Portfolio Manager and sponsors to shape new SSW research directions.
• Resource Management - Align personnel and technical resources—including UxV test assets, autonomy laboratories, software infrastructure, and field test facilities—with program needs and strategic priorities.
• Personnel Management - Mentor engineers and researchers specializing in UxV autonomy, control systems, undersea sensing, navigation, and environmental modeling. Foster growth in mission-focused undersea autonomy competencies.
• Department Management - Ensure effective planning and execution of programs involving system integration, sea testing, autonomy software development, mission simulation and evaluation, and cross-domain unmanned systems collaboration.
• Collaboration - Work across ARL departments to integrate autonomy with undersea vehicles, sensors, communications, and emerging technologies. Partner with oceanography, acoustics, guidance & control, and materials experts to develop next-generation UxV capabilities.
• New Business – Must be entrepreneurial in nature. You will need to work with the SSW Portfolio manager to create and shape new UxV autonomy research opportunities. Help develop seedling efforts in areas such as: long-duration UxV autonomy, autonomous behaviors for complex missions, resilient undersea communications autonomy, and cross-domain unmanned vehicle coordination.
• Customer Interaction – Engage directly with Navy sponsors, DoD collaborators, and other stakeholders to present UxV autonomy advancements, field-test results, and new capability concepts. Represent ARL at autonomy and undersea systems conferences and technical reviews.

Required Skills/Experience

• Past success managing technical teams and programs
• Strong decision-making skills in complex technical and operational environments.
• Autonomy for unmanned systems including: autonomy architectures, behavior frameworks and mission planning for undersea missions, undersea navigation and perception autonomy behaviors, autonomy standards for UxVs (e.g., MOSA, A-GRA, UMAA, PCX), UXV simulation, evaluation, and verification environments
• DEVSECOPS approaches used for government autonomy and control software
• Test and evaluation of maritime platforms
• Current eligibility for access to classified information at the Top Secret level or higher and may be subject to a government background investigation to upgrade clearance eligibility, if required

Preferred Skills/Experience

• UxV systems, including platforms, mission payloads, launch and recovery, acoustic comms, and energy management
• Oceanography, seabed features, and environmental data used for UxV autonomy
• Past success supporting Navy missions, operational training, or UxV fleet experimentation
• Development or use of UxV simulation frameworks (e.g., high-fidelity hydrodynamic or environmental modeling)
• Principal Investigator or business development experience in UxV or autonomy programs
• AI/ML methods applied to UxV navigation, perception, environmental characterization, mission planning, or anomaly detection
• Past success managing technical personnel in undersea systems or autonomy fields

ARL Purpose

ARL’s purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Intel Community (IC), and other federal government customers.

Further Information

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our website at www.arl.psu.edu.

Background Checks/Clearances

Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies. Notice regarding employment at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL): Employees must be eligible to obtain a government security clearance, participate in the ARL drug testing program, and comply with electronic and physical monitoring requirements applicable to federal contractors. ARL operates in a secure information environment involving Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified information. Personal electronic devices brought onsite must be registered and may be restricted from certain areas. You must be a U.S. citizen to apply.

CAMPUS SECURITY CRIME STATISTICS

Pursuant to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and the Pennsylvania Act of 1988, Penn State publishes a combined Annual Security and Annual Fire Safety Report (ASR). The ASR includes crime statistics and institutional policies concerning campus security, such as those concerning alcohol and drug use, crime prevention, the reporting of crimes, sexual assault, and other matters. The ASR is available for review here.

Equal Opportunity

Penn State is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing employment opportunities to all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or protected veteran status.

If you are unable to use our online application process due to an impairment or disability, please contact 814-865-1473.

Benefits

• Penn State provides a competitive benefits package for full-time employees designed to support both personal and professional wellbeing.
• In addition to comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, employees enjoy robust retirement plans.
• One of the standout benefits is the generous 75% tuition discount, available to employees as well as eligible spouses and children.
• Note: For Postdoctoral benefits, please see our Postdoctoral Benefits page.

About Penn State

And across the world is a community of Penn Staters – more than half a million strong – driven by that same spirit to serve our local and global communities. At Penn State, passion is met with collaboration in an environment that is rooted in shared pride for the accomplishments of our fellow students, faculty, staff, and alumni. Penn Staters cheer each other on to build a culture committed to service and engagement. Our University values represent our core ethical aspirations for all our daily activities and actions as students, faculty, staff, and volunteers at Penn State. Our values are as follows; Integrity, Respect, Responsibility, Discovery, Excellence, and Community. We Are Penn State. One Community. Impacting Many.