Software Engineer, Location & Motion (Inertial Navigation / GNSS)

Rivet Industries; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 225,000 - 275,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Unlimited PTO

Equity

Competitive benefits

Job summary

Rivet is seeking an experienced engineer to own the navigation stack for head-worn and body-worn systems. You will turn inertial and GNSS data into a robust position and orientation estimate across challenging real-world environments, including calibration, inertial navigation, GNSS integration, and estimation algorithms that integrate with perception teams.

You will work hands-on across algorithms, embedded software, hardware integration, lab testing, and field validation, collaborating to

Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience owning and shipping a production navigation solution providing position and attitude estimates.
• Strong hands-on experience with inertial sensing, magnetometer calibration, heading estimation, GNSS, and sensor fusion.
• Deep understanding of strapdown inertial navigation, error-state estimation, Kalman filtering and/or factor-graph methods, observability, and uncertainty modeling.
• Proficiency in C++ and Python, with production software for embedded or resource-constrained systems.
• Understanding of coordinate frames and attitude representations (ECEF, ENU/NED, quaternions).

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end 9-axis inertial sensing system calibration, synchronization, frames, and attitude estimation.
• Develop robust heading and inertial navigation solutions considering sensor errors and environmental factors.
• Own GNSS integration and performance, including receiver config, measurements, and reliability in degraded environments.
• Design and maintain the navigation fusion estimator combining inertial, GNSS, and other data into a continuous solution.
• Develop calibration/characterization methods for production and field use (per-unit calibration).
• Collaborate with hardware, firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing teams on sensor selection, placement, and interfaces.
• Define interfaces between navigation and perception systems and transitions between absolute navigation and visual tracking.
• Build testing/validation infrastructure to measure navigation performance and prevent regressions.

Skills

C++

Python

Inertial navigation

Sensor fusion

GNSS

Kalman filtering

Embedded systems

Data analysis

Education

BS / MS / PhD in navigation, aerospace/GNC, robotics, geomatics, or related field

Tools

Embedded debugging tools

Job description

About Rivet

Rivet is an American company building integrated task systems — fusing hardened hardware with software, sensors, AI, and networking — for industrial workforces and defense personnel. We create capabilities that multiply the effectiveness of every individual and withstand the world’s toughest environments.

About Rivet

Rivet is an American company building integrated task systems — fusing hardened hardware with software, sensors, AI, and networking — for industrial workforces and defense personnel. We create capabilities that multiply the effectiveness of every individual and withstand the world’s toughest environments.

We serve the people who build, operate, maintain, and defend our way of life. From technicians and engineers to first responders and service members, they embody the hard work, ingenuity, and meritocratic values that drive Western prosperity. Yet too often they are forced to rely on outdated tools that fail under modern pressures. Rivet exists to reset that priority.

At Rivet, you will join a mission-driven team that fuses disciplines to deliver decisive outcomes where they matter most. Whether shaping our technology, strengthening our partnerships, or building our culture, every role here contributes to equipping the front lines with the modern systems they deserve.

Work Authorization Requirement

Due to the nature of our business and compliance with federal regulations, all candidates must be a "U.S. Person". Upon hire, you will be required to provide documentation verifying your status as a U.S. Citizen, a lawful permanent resident, or a protected individual under 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).

Summary

We're looking for an experienced engineer to own the navigation and positioning stack for Rivet's head-worn and body-worn systems. You will be responsible for turning inertial and GNSS sensor data into a robust, continuous estimate of position and orientation across challenging real-world environments. This includes sensor calibration and characterization, inertial navigation, GNSS integration, and the estimation algorithms that bring these inputs together. You will work closely with our perception team to define how navigation and visual tracking complement one another and provide a stable experience to downstream systems. This is a highly hands-on role spanning algorithms, embedded software, hardware integration, laboratory testing, and field validation.

Responsibilities

• Own the end-to-end 9-axis inertial sensing system, including accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer calibration, synchronization, coordinate frames, and attitude estimation.
• Develop robust heading and inertial navigation solutions that account for sensor errors, environmental disturbances, temperature variation, and platform effects.
• Own GNSS integration and performance, including receiver configuration, raw measurement analysis, signal quality characterization, and resilience to degraded or unreliable positioning environments.
• Design and maintain the navigation fusion estimator, combining inertial, GNSS, and other available measurements into a continuous position, velocity, and attitude solution with well-characterized uncertainty.
• Develop calibration and characterization methods for production and field use, including sensor characterization, per-unit calibration, and automated validation.
• Partner with hardware, firmware, mechanical, and manufacturing teams on sensor selection, placement, mechanical integration, power and thermal constraints, and production test requirements.
• Define interfaces between the navigation and perception systems, including transitions between absolute navigation and relative visual tracking.
• Build the testing and validation infrastructure needed to measure navigation performance, replay real-world data, diagnose failures, and prevent regressions across releases.

Requirements

• BS + 8 years, MS + 5 years, or PhD + 3 years of experience in navigation, aerospace/GNC, robotics, geomatics, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated experience owning and shipping a production navigation solution that provides position and attitude estimates.
• Strong hands-on experience with inertial sensing, magnetometer calibration, heading estimation, GNSS, and sensor fusion.
• Deep understanding of strapdown inertial navigation, error-state estimation, Kalman filtering and/or factor-graph methods, observability, and uncertainty modeling.
• Proficiency in C++ and Python, with experience developing production software for embedded or resource-constrained systems.
• Strong understanding of coordinate frames and attitude representations, including ECEF, ENU/NED, body and sensor frames, quaternions, and alignment concepts.
• Experience integrating sensors at the hardware and system level, including sensor selection, placement, calibration, timing/synchronization, and embedded interfaces.
• Comfortable working hands-on in the lab and field, designing experiments, collecting and analyzing sensor data, and validating navigation performance against ground truth.

Experience with head- or body-worn navigation, XR/AR/VR systems, pedestrian inertial navigation, defense or resilient PNT applications, production sensor subsystems, or manufacturing calibration and test. Ability to obtain a U.S. security clearance is also a plus.

Compensation may vary within the posted range based on relevant experience, skills, education, and other job-related factors. In addition to base salary, this role may be eligible for equity and other forms of compensation. Eligible employees also receive a competitive benefits package, including unlimited PTO.

Rivet is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to any characteristic protected by applicable law. Certain roles may require U.S. Person status, security clearance eligibility, or other requirements imposed by law or government contract.

Compensation Range: $225K - $275K