Lead Autonomy Engineer – Autonomous Maritime Systems

Darwin Recruitment; West Palm Beach (FL); On-site; USD 159,000 - 195,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual bonus 15% of base salary

Equity / Stock options

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment is seeking a Lead Autonomy Engineer for a U.S. defense partner developing uncrewed surface vessels (USVs). Florida-based, the role requires U.S. citizenship and security clearance eligibility, and focuses on leading the integration of autonomous software, robotics, AI, and navigation with real-world maritime platforms.

The package includes a base salary of $159,000–$195,000, plus a 15% annual bonus and stock options, with travel for testing and customer engagements as needed.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of experience in systems engineering, especially autonomy systems.
• Experience integrating sophisticated hardware and software systems.
• Strong understanding of sensors, navigation, controls, and autonomous system architectures.
• Experience leading multidisciplinary engineering efforts from concept through deployment.
• A passion for solving engineering problems that aren’t yet tackled.

Responsibilities

• Lead the integration and evolution of autonomous technologies, bridging software, robotics, AI, navigation systems and real-world maritime platforms.
• Collaborate to ensure seamless interoperability between hardware and software across complex systems.
• Drive architecture decisions and technical direction for autonomous maritime solutions.

Job description

Darwin Recruitment is seeking a Lead Autonomy Engineer for a U.S. defense partner developing uncrewed surface vessels (USVs). Florida-based, the role requires U.S. citizenship and security clearance eligibility, and focuses on leading the integration of autonomous software, robotics, AI, and navigation with real-world maritime platforms.

The package includes a base salary of $159,000–$195,000, plus a 15% annual bonus and stock options, with travel for testing and customer engagements as needed.