Autonomy Software Engineer IV

Key Skills

Python Programming, Scala Programming, C++, Java Programming, Machine learning techniques, Data science techniques, SQL, Apache Hadoop, MapReduce, TensorFlow, PyTorch, R Programming

Job Description

We are seeking a Autonomy Software Engineer IV; position can be located in Columbus, OH or Warren, MI.

JOB SUMMARY

Help bring our military’s vision of the next generation warfighter to reality where soldiers operate in manned-unmanned teams with autonomous and semi-autonomous (robot) combat vehicles. Battelle's Advanced Mission Solutions Business Line is seeking qualified applicants for a Senior Level Software Engineer with engineering skills and expertise in robotics and autonomy for unmanned mobile ground platforms. The primary work location will be at Battelle’s corporate headquarters in Columbus, Ohio or Warren, MI with travel to client sites in various continental United States locations.
 
The applicant will apply software engineering and subject matter expertise to support development, integration, testing and evaluation for the autonomous ground combat vehicle program.
 
This position will require travel to several testing locations within the continental United States to support regular platform autonomy integration and testing events. You will be part of a team of engineers at Battelle providing support for the program. The position also entails direct communication with the client.
 
This is an engineering team leadership role that will provide hands-on robotics engineering support as directed by the client. Typical job activities include field testing; evaluating and optimizing autonomy algorithms over a wide range of testing environments and dynamic stimuli; assessing vendor software compliance against open-architecture requirements; inspecting, integrating and improving vendor or Government developed software modules; and developing custom adapter modules to bridge interface, capability and performance gaps.

MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintain regular communications with the client’s team to establish strong working relationships and facilitate an agile approach to evolving customer requirements.
• Lead a small multidisciplinary engineering team to provide hands-on engineering support for integration and testing needs both at the client locations and at Battelle.
• Provide subject matter expertise for Government managed autonomy software frameworks, middleware, and tools
• Collaborate with the client and Battelle engineering team to design, develop and improve ground vehicle autonomy.
• Develop and execute detailed test plans.
• Manage the physical integration of autonomous hardware components such as environmental sensors and drive-by-wire actuators onto ground robot platforms.
• Deploy autonomy software updates to computing systems running on ground robot platforms.
• Capture observations and record measurable results from integration and testing events.

THE FOLLOWING IS REQUIRED

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science or related field with at least 8 years of professional experience or master’s degree in Computer Science or related field with at least 5 years of professional experience.
• Proficiency with UNIX style C++ development using gcc/g++, make build tools, and version control systems such as git.
• Ability to develop generic and modular software within a compartmentalized autonomy architecture.
• Exceptional written and oral communication skills with the ability to use standard Microsoft Office presentation tools to communicate with client representatives and Battelle management.
• Ability to interface within a larger team structure that manages programmatic and technical risks.
• Ability to work in a multidisciplinary and physically distributed team environment.
• Ability to mentor less experienced software developers and supervise non-software engineers.
• Willing to travel within the continental United States.
• Must be a US Citizen with the ability and willingness to obtain and maintain a SECRET DoD Security Clearance.

THE FOLLOWING IS DESIRED

• Knowledge and first-hand experience in building and operating mobile ground robot systems.
• Familiar with existing government software and architecture standards and development efforts.
• Experience working with technical data packages and standards implementations.
• Proficiency with a Data Distribution Service such as the Robot Operating System (ROS) software framework or the Robotic Technology Kernel (RTK) software library in particular.
• Expertise with robotic tools such as the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS) open architecture, the UGV Interoperability Profile (IOP) extension to JAUS, and the Autonomous Ground Vehicle Reference Architecture (AGVRA).
• Experience with Hardware-in-the-Loop, Human-in-the-Loop, and Autonomy-in-the-Loop testbeds.
• Knowledge of manned and unmanned teaming concepts and latest industry research.
• Knowledge of autonomy algorithms for robot maneuverability such as localization and world modeling (e.g., SLAM); path planning and path following; collision detection and avoidance.
• Proficiency in physics-based 3D modeling, simulation, and visualization tools.