Autonomy Engineer, Navigation & Sensing

BRINC•Seattle, WA

22d

About The Position

We are seeking a Navigation & Sensing Engineer to join our Autonomy engineering team to advance the positioning, guidance, and multi-sensor fusion capabilities of our UAVs and public safety products. You will design, implement, and optimize real-time navigation algorithms that deliver accurate, resilient localization across GPS-challenged and adversarial environments. In this role, you will work across GNSS, inertial navigation, multi-sensor fusion, timing and observability pipelines, and robust state estimation systems, collaborating closely with autonomy, software, controls, and hardware teams to bring next-generation navigation solutions into production UAV platforms.

Requirements

Bachelor’s, Master’s, or PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or a related field with a minimum of 3+ years of industry experience. Note - we are considering candidates for mid-career, senior, and principal positions.
Strong programming skills in C++ and Python, with experience building real-time systems.
Experience developing navigation or state estimation systems for robotics or UAVs, with a foundation in GNSS, INS, and/or multi-sensor fusion.
Proficiency with GNSS technologies, including RTK, PPP, differential corrections, and modern signal types (L1/L2/L5, multi-constellation GNSS).
Familiarity with implementing real-time estimation pipelines on embedded systems or low-latency compute platforms.
Hands-on experience with UAV or robotics testing, including sensor characterization, data collection, and field validation.

Nice To Haves

Strong expertise in GNSS, including carrier-phase RTK/PPP, integer ambiguity resolution, and multi-constellation/multi-frequency operation.
Experience with tightly/deeply coupled GNSS–INS fusion and robust error-state filtering.
Hands-on work with moving-base GNSS, dual-antenna heading, and dynamic baseline calibration.
Knowledge of GNSS resilience: spoofing/jamming detection, integrity monitoring, and multipath mitigation.
Familiarity with complementary navigation methods (UWB, radar altimetry, visual-inertial fusion, etc.).
Solid understanding of sensor timing, synchronization, and observability.
Background in UAV reliability, redundancy, and autonomous flight considerations.
Experience with ROS, PX4, MAVSDK, and/or similar robotics middleware.

Responsibilities

Research, design, and implement state estimation algorithms, including advanced GNSS/INS fusion, and robust filtering approaches.
Develop high-reliability navigation pipelines integrating GNSS, IMUs/inertial sensors, magnetometers, barometers, LiDAR, Radar, and other sensing modalities.
Build algorithms and tooling for GNSS integrity monitoring, spoofing/jamming detection, signal quality assessment, and fallback/contingency navigation behaviors.
Develop calibration, synchronization, and observability pipelines for multi-sensor UAV systems, ensuring consistency and long-term reliability.
Implement and optimize real-time navigation algorithms on embedded processors, focusing on determinism, computational efficiency, and fault tolerance.
Validate navigation performance through simulation, log replay, hardware-in-the-loop, and real-world flight testing in a variety of GPS conditions.
Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure seamless integration with autonomy, controls, avionics, mechanical, and firmware systems.
Contribute to technical strategy, define best practices, and help guide the evolution of the navigation and sensing stack as systems scale and mature.

Benefits

Comprehensive medical, dental and vision plans for our employees and their families
401K plan
Maternity and paternity leave
Flexible Time Off (Exempt) / Paid time off (Non-Exempt)
Flexible work environment
Orca pass (for those in Puget Sound)
Free parking (Seattle office)
Free snacks, drinks and espresso (Seattle office)

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