Lead Autonomy Engineer

Jobtailor; Burlington (MA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in Burlington, MA seeks an experienced leader in autonomy technologies to guide a team delivering edge computing solutions for mission autonomy. The role oversees customer interactions, program milestones, and cross-disciplinary collaboration to advance R&D roadmaps.

The ideal candidate has strong C/C++, Python skills, Linux experience, and a track record in building autonomous software systems, with a focus on planning, decision-making, and behavior execution in dynamic environments.

Qualifications

• B.S. in Math, Statistics, CS, Engineering, Physical Science, OR Data Science or equivalent experience plus 7+ years in autonomy tech with leadership.
• M.S. and 5+ years in related engineering, or Ph.D. and 2+ years in related role.
• Experience leading proposals and winning contracts.
• Experience building and integrating software for edge platforms.
• Background in robotics technologies related to motion planning, behavior modeling, or decision-making.
• Experience with Linux-based development environments.
• Strong communication and problem-solving abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team to develop innovative solutions addressing customer requirements.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in mission autonomy technologies.
• Support or lead marketing and proposal efforts in mission autonomy.
• Oversee or contribute to program milestones and team tasking.
• Handle prime and customer-facing interactions.
• Stay current with industry trends in autonomy and related fields.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to advance R&D roadmaps.
• Ability to sit/stand at a desk and work on a computer for long periods.
• Occasional travel may be required.
• May require lifting up to 15 pounds.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a US DOD Security Clearance.

Skills

C/C++

Python

Robotics

Team leadership

Proposal leadership

Linux

Edge computing

Motion planning

AI/ML libraries

Simulation tools

Multi-agent systems

Software integration

Communication

Education

B.S. in STEM field

M.S. in relevant field

Ph.D. in related field

Tools

AFSIM

NGTS

Job description

Responsibilities

• Lead a team to develop innovative solutions to address technical challenges derived from customer requirements.
• Serve as a subject matter expert in emerging mission autonomy technologies.
• Support or lead marketing and proposal efforts in mission autonomy.
• Support or lead managing and tasking team to achieve program milestones.
• Take primary responsibility for prime and customer-facing interactions.
• Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, and best practices in mission autonomy and other areas relevant to Scientific Systems.
• Collaborate with multi-disciplinary teams to advance R&D roadmaps.
• The role does require the ability to sit or stand at a desk and work on a computer for prolonged periods of time.
• This role may require occasional travel when necessary.
• May require the ability to push/pull/lift up to 15 pounds.
• Must be able to obtain and maintain a US DOD Security Clearance.

Requirements

• Bachelor of Science degree in Math, Statistics, Computer Science, Engineering, Physical Science, Operations Research, Data Science, or equivalent experience and 7+ years of progressive autonomy technologies experience including team leadership in a related industry, a Master degree and 5+ years of related engineering experience, or a Ph.D. degree and 2+ years working in a related engineering role.
• Experience working in a team leadership role in a related industry.
• Proven track record of leading proposals and winning contracts.
• Proven track record of leading programs in the principal investigator role or similar experience.
• Experience in building and integrating software for edge platforms.
• Experience with C/C++, Python, and/or project-specific required languages. (e.g. Java, Rust, etc.)
• Experience assisting with non-technical programmatic priorities as needed, including staff planning, budget estimation and tracking, and customer-facing interactions.
• Background in robotics technologies related to motion planning, behavior modeling, or decision-making and their accompanying algorithms.
• Experience with simulation tools and environments (e.g., AFSIM, NGTS) for validation, verification, and training.
• M.S. or Ph.D. degrees.
• Familiar with AI/ML standard libraries and tools.
• Experience working in Linux-based development environments.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Experience working on both classical autonomy and machine learning and the combination of the two, blending rule-based systems with learning-based methods such as reinforcement learning and generative methods to achieve resilient, adaptive behavior.
• Experience developing software modules that combine planning, decision-making, and behavior execution in dynamic, adversarial environments.
• Experience implementing and testing behavior architectures such as multi-agent collaboration, target engagement, payload management, reconnaissance, and engagement in adversarial scenarios.
• Ability to analyze mission logs to diagnose failures and optimize models for iterative development.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills including technical writing skills.
• Ability to identify and creatively solve complex problems