GNC and Autonomy Engineer-Associate Staff
Location: Lexington, MA (Onsite – 5 days/week, potential hybrid flexibility)
Citizenship: U.S. Citizenship required (no clearance required at start)

About the Team

The Tactical Autonomy Group develops and delivers AI-enabled autonomy and robotic systems where it counts - at the tactical edge. As an FFRDC, we combine academic depth in algorithms, controls, and machine learning, the execution speed of industry, and direct mission pull from operational end-users to solve problems others can’t. We don’t stop at papers: we design, build, integrate, field-test, and transition autonomy stacks - spanning perception, decision-making, learning, and control - into real operations across the DoD and Intelligence Community.

Position Description

In this role you will contribute to navigation and estimation teams that are developing autonomous systems and payloads for sea, ground, and air domains. Many of the projects incorporate GPS-denied capabilities (e.g. magnetic, vision, radio frequency) for single and multi-agent concepts. Individual contributors leverage experience in state estimation, optimization, and object-oriented programming to contribute throughout the full lifecycle of a project from concept definition to field testing. In addition to direct project contributions, staff are encouraged to explore cutting-edge approaches and execute publishable research.

Key Responsibilities

Design and develop autonomous navigation and estimation systems for uncrewed platforms
Build and implement GPS-denied navigation solutions using alternative sensing (e.g., vision, LiDAR, RF, magnetic)
Develop and deploy GNC algorithms, including feedback control and state estimation
Contribute to system architecture, software development, and integration efforts
Participate in field testing and real-world deployment of autonomous systems
Collaborate across multidisciplinary teams to deliver mission-ready capabilities
Explore and contribute to cutting-edge research in autonomy and robotics

Required Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Computer Science, or related field with 5+ years of experience, or Master’s degree with 3+ years of experience
Hands-on experience with autonomous systems or robotics
Strong background in state estimation (e.g., Kalman filters, SLAM, factor graphs) and control systems
Proficiency in C++ development within a Linux environment
Experience building clean, maintainable, and scalable software systems
Strong communication skills with the ability to present technical concepts clearly

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with GPS-denied navigation systems
Familiarity with ROS and/or Python
Experience with computer vision, LiDAR, or sensor fusion
Exposure to machine learning in autonomy applications
Experience with real-time systems or RTOS
Background in aerospace or air-domain autonomy systems
Ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret clearance (not required to start)

Why This Role

Work on cutting-edge autonomy systems deployed in real-world environments
Solve complex challenges in GPS-denied navigation
Contribute to impactful programs across air, land, and sea domains
Join a team that bridges research and real-world deployment

GNC & Autonomy Engineer (Associate Staff)