Senior Autonomy Robotics Engineer

Near Earth Autonomy; Pittsburgh (Allegheny County); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Near Earth Autonomy in Pittsburgh, PA seeks a Senior Autonomy Robotics Engineer to design, develop, test, and deploy algorithms for autonomous flight applications on drones and aircraft, guiding projects through the full lifecycle.

You will implement perception, state estimation, and vehicle control strategies, integrate sensors (lidar, cameras, GPS, gimbals), and lead software development in C++ and Python within a Linux environment, mentoring junior engineers. Occasional local travel allowed.

Qualifications

• Robotics perception and state estimation for navigation
• Autonomous aerial vehicle controllers
• Sensor integration into flight systems (lidar, cameras, GPS, gimbals)
• C++ and Python software design
• CI/CD pipelines with GitLab or similar
• Linux-based development
• Robotics hardware and software data pipelines
• Software engineering life cycle and best practices
• Robot Operating System (ROS) proficiency

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, refine and test autonomy algorithms for flight.
• Lead teams and mentor engineers through projects and lifecycle.
• Implement mission planning and control strategies for autonomous systems.

Skills

Perception & Estimation

Autonomous Flight Control

Sensor Integration

C++ Development

Python Development

CI/CD (GitLab)

Linux Development

ROS

Team Leadership

Tools

GitLab

ROS

Linux

Job description

Near Earth Autonomy seeks a Senior Autonomy Robotics Engineer in Pittsburgh, PA to design, develop, refine, and test algorithms, methods, and systems for autonomous flight applications, and integrate and deploy them onto aircraft that range from small drones to helicopters; and exercise technical leadership, guiding projects through the complete lifecycle from design to production, supervising other engineers as needed, and providing subject matter expertise. Duties: implement mathematical models of mission plan execution, such as behavior trees and state machines for autonomous systems; design and implement robotics perception and state estimation algorithms for vehicle navigation and guidance; design and implement autonomous aerial vehicle controllers; perform software benchmarking and optimization in multi-threaded development environments; integrate sensors into flight systems, including lidar, cameras, GPS, and gimbals; software design and programming in C++ and Python; set up and manage continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines using GitLab or similar environments; develop systems in a Linux environment; field test aerial robotics systems; and lead teams and mentor new engineers. Occasional local telecommuting is permitted.

Requirements

• (i) robotics perception and state estimation algorithms for vehicle navigation and guidance;
• (ii) autonomous aerial vehicle controllers;
• (iii) sensor integration into flight systems, including lidar, cameras, GPS, and gimbals;
• (iv) software design and programming in C++ and Python;
• (v) continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines using GitLab or similar environments;
• (vi) development in the Linux environment;
• (vii) robotics hardware and software, including sensor data pipelines;
• (viii) software engineering practice and software development life cycle;
• (ix) Robot Operating System (ROS).

Travel required within U.S. about 6 times per year, about 3 days per trip for flight tests and demonstrations.