GNC & Autonomy Engineer

Mainstream Engineering Corporation; Florida; On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Mainstream Engineering Corporation in Florida is seeking a Senior GNC & Autonomy Engineer to build a new autonomous systems portfolio for military, governmental, and commercial customers. You’ll own guidance, navigation, and control, state estimation, perception, and ML methods, shaping the research vector and proposals to win funded programs.

You’ll collaborate with robotics and mechanical engineers, train junior staff, and advance from simulation to hardware-in-the-loop and field testing while

Qualifications

• PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering or related field with focus on controls, robotics, or ML; exceptional MS with strong research or industry experience will be considered
• Minimum of a 3.3 GPA for all completed degrees
• Hands-on experience developing/testing control algorithms, state estimation, or ML/CV on real systems
• Proficiency in Python, C++, MATLAB

Responsibilities

• Develop guidance, navigation, and control algorithms for autonomous systems (undersea and ground vehicles)
• Design state estimation, sensor fusion, and localization/mapping methods
• Develop computer vision and ML methods for perception and autonomous decision-making
• Transition algorithms from theory to simulation to hardware-in-the-loop to field testing
• Write technical proposals to government and private customers to define and win funded work
• Lead IRAD efforts to mature new capabilities ahead of customer need
• Collaborate with robotics and mechanical engineers on sensor selection and system integration
• Interface with government and commercial customers to understand requirements and demonstrate capabilities
• Support existing programs as needed while portfolio ramps up
• Mentor junior engineers

Skills

Python

C++

MATLAB

Controls

Robotics

Machine Learning

State Estimation

Sensor Fusion

GNC

Technical Proposal Writing

Education

PhD in Mechanical Engineering or Aerospace or Electrical Engineering

Tools

Embedded Systems

Real-Time Computing

MATLAB/Simulink

Job description

We're looking for a Senior GNC & Autonomy Engineer to help us build out a new portfolio in autonomous systems for our military, governmental, and commercial customers. In this role, you'll own the "brains" of autonomous systems: guidance, navigation, and control; state estimation; perception and computer vision; and machine learning methods. This isn't a mature product line with an established roadmap; you'll be building it. Your creativity and research interests will largely determine what we build next, and you'll be responsible for writing the proposals and winning the programs that fund it. We're hiring for this role alongside a companion Sr. Robotics Engineer posting covering the other half of this portfolio - feel free to apply to either based on your strengths, or apply together with a research partner as a pair if you'd like to build this out as a team from day one.

This is a unique opportunity with near-complete autonomy to build out your own research vector, backed by an established R&D firm with the infrastructure, proposal support, and customer relationships already in place. While this group is being built out, you'll also support our existing mechanical design, thermal, and other funded programs as needed, until there's steady work while you grow the pipeline in your own area. You'll also be expected to help train and mentor junior engineers.

What You'll Do

• Develop guidance, navigation, and control algorithms for autonomous systems - undersea and ground-based vehicles, and other autonomously-operating platforms
• Design and implement state estimation, sensor fusion, and localization/mapping methods
• Develop computer vision and machine learning methods for perception and autonomous decision-making
• Take algorithms from theory to simulation to hardware-in-the-loop to field testing
• Write technical proposals to both government and private customers to define and win the work that funds your research vector
• Propose and lead internal IRAD efforts to mature new capabilities ahead of customer need
• Collaborate closely with our robotics and mechanical engineers on sensor selection and system-level integration
• Interface directly with government and commercial customers to understand requirements and demonstrate capability
• Support existing mechanical design, thermal, and other funded programs as needed, particularly while your own portfolio ramps up
• Help train and mentor junior engineers

What We're Looking For

Required

• Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field, with a focus on controls, robotics, or machine learning (exceptional M.S. candidates with a strong research background or relevant industry experience will also be considered)
• Minimum of a 3.3 GPA for all completed degrees
• Demonstrated, hands‑on experience developing and testing control algorithms, state estimation, or ML/CV methods on real systems
• Proficiency in relevant programming languages (e.g., Python, C++, MATLAB)
• U.S. Citizenship required due to ITAR requirements, and ability to obtain a security clearance as required in the future
• Willingness to mentor junior engineers and flex across adjacent mechanical engineering work while the portfolio grows

Preferred

• Research experience in nonlinear/robust control, state estimation, or reinforcement learning applied to autonomous systems
• Experience with computer vision or perception methods for navigation, mapping, or object detection/classification
• Experience running algorithms on embedded or real-time hardware
• Experience writing technical proposals or leading independent research
• Familiarity with undersea (AUV/UUV), ground robotic, or other autonomous platforms
• Prior experience mentoring or leading junior researchers or engineers