UAV Autonomy Engineer: SLAM, Perception & Safe Navigation

Cleo Robotics, Inc.; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity for every new hire

Flexible PTO

Health insurance

Team gatherings

Job summary

Cleo Robotics, Inc. in Boston, MA, seeks a Robotics Autonomy Engineer to advance our Dronut UAV autonomy stack, developing AI and navigation algorithms for GPS-denied environments.

You will work with sensors such as LiDAR, IMU, and cameras to estimate pose and perform multi-sensor fusion, while optimizing C++/Python code for real-time performance on embedded edge hardware. Join a fast-paced team that values ownership, rigorous testing, and rapid product iteration to bring cutting‑edge autonomy

Qualifications

• Experience developing autonomy, localization, and navigation for robots or UAVs.
• Proven deployment of autonomy software on real robotic systems.
• Strong skills in VIO, SLAM, sensor fusion.
• Proficient in C++ and Python with real-time constraints.

Responsibilities

• Own and advance autonomy stack across localization, mapping, state estimation, sensor fusion, path planning, obstacle avoidance, and mission execution.
• Work across autonomy, perception, sensors, flight controls, and vehicle dynamics to solve system-level problems and optimize real-time performance.
• Develop and harden visual‑inertial and LiDAR‑based SLAM, multi-sensor fusion, sensor calibration, relocalization, drift management, and map persistence.
• Develop perception and reactive autonomy for obstacle detection, free‑space understanding, dynamic replanning, and safe navigation through changing environments.
• Build autonomous behaviors including path following, mission execution, data collection, health monitoring, fault detection, redundancy, graceful degradation, recovery, and safe return behaviors.
• Take cutting‑edge robotics research and turn it into reliable product capability on compute‑constrained edge hardware.
• Optimize the full stack for onboard compute: profile and tune C/C++ for real‑time performance within strict latency, memory, compute, power, and thermal budgets on embedded edge hardware.
• Build and improve simulation, log replay, automated testing, regression benchmarks, telemetry, CI/CD, deployment, and fleet diagnostics to support reliable autonomy across a growing fleet and multiple hardware configurations.
• Own real‑world autonomy performance through bench and field testing, flight‑log analysis, root‑cause debugging, and rapid product iteration.
• Help define Cleo’s autonomy architecture and roadmap while operating with significant independence and ownership.

Skills

C/C++

Python

ROS2

Embedded Linux

Sensor fusion

GPU optimization

Software engineering

Education

Bachelor's degree in Robotics, CS, or related

Master's degree in Robotics or related field

Tools

Git

Docker

NVIDIA Jetson

Job description

Cleo Robotics, Inc. in Boston, MA, seeks a Robotics Autonomy Engineer to advance our Dronut UAV autonomy stack, developing AI and navigation algorithms for GPS-denied environments.

You will work with sensors such as LiDAR, IMU, and cameras to estimate pose and perform multi-sensor fusion, while optimizing C++/Python code for real-time performance on embedded edge hardware. Join a fast-paced team that values ownership, rigorous testing, and rapid product iteration to bring cutting‑edge autonomy