• Autonomous Robotics and Navigation Engineer

    Leidos (Huntsville, AL)


    Description

    The Guidance, Navigation, Control, and Autonomy Department of the Leidos Innovation Center develops and deploys cutting edge autonomy and alternative navigation systems for customers who can’t rely on GPS alone, and we need your help in the Rocket City (Huntsville, AL)! In this position you’ll be working on a mix of analytical and hands-on tasks including algorithm development, analysis, simulation, and field testing of autonomous navigation systems. Your group primarily supports research and development as well as advanced prototyping for customers including DARPA, NASA, Air Force Research Laboratory, Office of Naval Research, and the Army CCDC Aviation and Missile Center. These customers need to get our advanced technology into the field! You’ll be a part of more than one small team of engineers (typically 3-5) working together in spiral or agile development environments to meet aggressive customer schedules aimed at near-term field demonstrations of advanced capabilities. You’ll get to go demo your work in the field in front the customer!

     

    Are you excited about making advanced technologies work in the real world? Then we want you on our team!

    Fun stuff on the job you will get to do:

    + Develop, integrate, and analyze navigation fusion algorithms, including Extended Kalman Filters, Unscented Kalman Filters, and Particle Filters

    + Develop, integrate, and analyze computer vision techniques (including feature extraction, feature matching, optical flow, visual odometry, and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) functions)

    + Develop and utilize simulation testbeds to support algorithm testing and assessment

    + Travel with your team to demo your system to the customer on a variety of platforms, including aircraft, ground vehicles, pedestrians, and naval ships. Testing trips typically last for 1-2 weeks and occur 3-4 times a year.

    Skills you will need to be successful in this role:

    + Bachelor's degree in Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or equivalent with 4+ years of relevant experience or Masters in above mentioned technical domain with 2+ years of experience, or Ph.D. in technical domain.

    + Must be a US Citizen

    + Must be willing and able to obtain and maintain a Secret security clearance (no clearance required to start in role)

    + 4+ years of experience programming in MATLAB. You’ll do most of your analysis and algorithm development in Matlab. Strong programming experience in other languages usually makes transition to Matlab pretty easy, so this could work as well.

    + Graduate coursework in/ or 2+ years of on the job experience with System Dynamics and Controls theory (e.g. PID Control, State Space Control, etc.)

    + Experience with _either_ sensor fusion/estimation algorithms (e.g. Kalman Filters, Particles Filters, or Factor Graphs), _or_ with computer vision algorithms (for instance openCV). If you have experience with both sensor fusion _and_ computer vision that’s even better!

    + Experience with C++ and/or Python

    You will wow us even more if you have these skills:

    + Masters/Ph.D. preferred

    + Experience working with various sensor types (Inertial Measurement Units, GPS, cameras, LiDAR, etc.)

    + Experience with the Robot Operating System (ROS) and the OpenCV computer vision library

    + Experience with interface communication standards / protocols including RS232, RS422, TCP/IP, and UDP to communicate with various sensors

    + Experience with autonomous system development through robotics competitions

    + Experience with the Linux operating environment

    + Experience using version control tools (GIT, Subversion, etc).

    + Experience with AI/Machine Learning for computer vision or robotics applications

     

    LInC

     

    Come break things (in a good way). Then build them smarter.

     

    We're the tech company everyone calls when things get weird. We don’t wear capes (they’re a safety hazard), but we do solve high-stakes problems with code, caffeine, and a healthy disregard for “how it’s always been done.”

    Original Posting:

    October 6, 2025

     

    For U.S. Positions: While subject to change based on business needs, Leidos reasonably anticipates that this job requisition will remain open for at least 3 days with an anticipated close date of no earlier than 3 days after the original posting date as listed above.

    Pay Range:

    Pay Range $85,150.00 - $153,925.00

     

    The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job, education, experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities, as well as internal equity, alignment with market data, applicable bargaining agreement (if any), or other law.

    REQNUMBER: R-00168247

    All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability or veteran status. Leidos will consider qualified applicants with criminal histories for employment in accordance with relevant Laws. Leidos is an equal opportunity employer/disability/vet.