Robotics/Autonomy Engineer

Job description

• Knightwerx is seeking a highly skilled and experienced Robotics/Autonomy Engineer to lead the development and integration of autonomous behaviors, perception systems, and Knightwerx is seeking a highly skilled Robotics/Autonomy Engineer to lead development and integration of autonomous behaviors, perception, and mission planning software for a small, unmanned electric aircraft. We operate in a fast-paced development environment that balances innovation and ingenuity with practicality and reliability. You’ll collaborate with flight-software, aeromechanical, and avionics teams to deliver robust autonomy for GPS-denied, contested, and complex environments from prototype through production.

Work Experience

• Bachelor's or higher degree in relevant engineering discipline
• 7 years of related industry experience
• Proven experience in developing application software for command, control and monitoring of remote systems
• Proven track record of delivering complex software products as an individual contributor
• Experience with UAVs or other autonomous systems
• Experience with UAV autopilot systems (e.g., PX4, ArduPilot)
• Experience with international interoperability standards like STANAG 4586
• Strong knowledge of MAVLink, RTPS and other UAV communication protocols.
• Experience with uORB, FastDDS, or similar frameworks for real-time communications in UAV systems
• Familiarity with mission planning, geospatial systems, and mapping software.

Attributes

• Ability to work effectively in a team environment, collaborating with cross-functional teams and contributing to collective goals
• Demonstrates a positive attitude towards feedback, actively seeking input from others to improve User Experience (UX)
• Innovative, hands-on, and practical
• Multi-disciplined, problem solver, driven by engineering analysis
• Goal driven, learns from mistakes, and closes the loop on the design process

Primary Duties

• Develop autonomous navigation, mission planning, and decision-making for a UAS
• Integrate perception sources (EO/IR, lidar, radar) and GPS-denied localization/SLAM into the autonomy stack
• Optimize behaviors for contested environments: obstacle avoidance, target tracking, dynamic retasking/fail-safes
• Interface autonomy with the flight stack (guidance, modes, set-points, constraints)
• Build and maintain simulation/SITL/HIL environments and validate before flight
• Support field testing: sensor calibration, autonomous mission execution, post-mission telemetry/data analysis

Tasks

• Implement autonomy software to develop and maintain features for mission planning, autopilot management, and vehicle control
• Select and integrate autonomy compute/payloads
• Create intuitive and responsive user interfaces (UI) for controlling and monitoring UAVs
• Implement and test new features based on user feedback and technological advancements
• Ensure the software is scalable, maintainable, and efficient
• Participate in the documentation of software design, code, and test procedures

Skills

• Knowledge of cybersecurity principles and practices in software development
• Strong in path planning and sensor fusion
• Familiarity with geospatial/mapping and mission-planning concepts
• Experience with simulation/tooling and data logging/analysis
• Embedded/edge deployment on Jetson or similar; performance profiling/optimization
• Experience with version control systems (Git) and build tools (CMake)
• Proficiency in programming languages such as C , Python, and/or Rust
• Familiarity with Qt, React, or similar frameworks for GUI development
• Strong understanding of real-time communication protocols and back-end integration
• Nice to have: STANAG 4586/interop awareness

Requirements

• Must have US citizenship
• On-site, collaborative work environment