Junior Autonomy & Sensor Fusion Engineer

RED CAT HOLDINGS•Fort Pierce, FL

3d•Onsite

About The Position

Blue Ops is seeking a motivated junior engineer to support the development, integration, testing, and validation of autonomous systems for uncrewed surface vessels (USVs). The role works closely with senior engineering personnel on navigation systems, GNSS and GNSS-denied positioning, radar integration, sensor fusion, autonomous navigation, and AI-assisted perception. It is a hands-on engineering position that combines software development, embedded systems, robotics, and real-world maritime testing. The engineer will contribute to navigation and positioning systems, onboard sensor integration and perception, autonomous vessel capabilities, software and hardware integration, AI and data-processing workflows, and laboratory, simulation, dockside, and controlled vessel testing. The position offers an opportunity to develop practical expertise in maritime autonomy, sensor fusion, GNSS-resilient navigation, robotics, and edge AI while working alongside experienced engineers. The role requires regular work across indoor and outdoor facilities and may involve lifting and moving equipment, using personal protective equipment, climbing or crouching during inspections, and exposure to noise, dust, temperature fluctuations, and industrial equipment. Occasional off-hours or weekend work may be required for emergency facility responses or projects. A post-offer background check is required. The position involves access to ITAR/EAR-controlled hardware, software, technology, or technical data; successful candidates must provide proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residence and must not require sponsorship for export-restricted work authorization. The company participates in E-Verify. Compensation includes base pay, an annual equity package, and potential bonuses; the salary range is undisclosed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, mechanical engineering, or a related technical field; equivalent demonstrated technical experience is considered.
Foundational proficiency in Python programming.
Familiarity with Linux development environments.
Basic understanding of GPS/GNSS, coordinate systems, and navigation principles.
Familiarity with sensors, embedded systems, or robotics.
Basic knowledge of linear algebra, trigonometry, and introductory control systems.
Experience using Git or another version-control system.
Ability to troubleshoot technical problems systematically.
Willingness to learn unfamiliar technologies.
Ability to communicate findings and document technical work.
Must be able to walk, stand, and navigate large indoor and outdoor facilities for extended periods.
Ability to lift, carry, and move materials and equipment weighing up to 25 lbs regularly.
May need to use personal protective equipment, climb ladders, stoop, kneel, or crouch.
Requires frequent use of a computer and standard office equipment.
Must successfully complete a post-offer background check.
Must provide proof of U.S. citizenship or permanent residence and must not require sponsorship for export-restricted work authorization due to ITAR/EAR access requirements.

Nice To Haves

Relevant internships, academic projects, robotics competitions, military technical experience, and personal engineering projects are welcomed.
Experience with ROS 2 and robotics middleware.
Experience with NVIDIA Jetson, Raspberry Pi, or similar embedded platforms.
Experience with GNSS, RTK, INS, IMUs, or magnetometers.
Experience with NMEA 0183 or NMEA 2000 maritime protocols.
Experience with marine radar, LiDAR, or camera-based perception.
Experience with Kalman filters, EKF, or sensor fusion.
Experience with autonomous vehicles, drones, or USVs.
C++ programming experience.
Experience with OpenCV, PyTorch, or machine learning inference.
Experience with Docker, CMake, colcon, or automated testing.
Experience with CAN bus, serial communications, or network diagnostics.
Experience with simulation tools or hardware-in-the-loop testing.
Knowledge of maritime navigation and COLREGs fundamentals.

Responsibilities

Assist with integrating and testing GNSS/GPS receivers, high-accuracy GNSS systems, RTK-GNSS, inertial navigation sensors, and PNT systems.
Support research and testing for GNSS-degraded and GNSS-denied navigation; work with IMUs, magnetometers, heading sensors, and INS.
Troubleshoot NMEA 0183, NMEA 2000, and navigation telemetry; help validate coordinate transformations, heading accuracy, sensor timestamps, and navigation data quality.
Support integration of marine radar, GNSS, IMU, cameras, and other onboard sensors; assist with Kalman filtering, EKF, state estimation, sensor evaluation, calibration, latency, and synchronization.
Develop Python utilities for sensor data processing, filtering, visualization, and diagnostics; support radar target detection, tracking, classification, ATR, and AI perception workflows.
Support development and testing of autonomous vessel navigation, waypoint navigation, route following, heading control, vessel state estimation, PID controllers, collision detection and avoidance, mission behaviors, safety monitoring, and recovery procedures.
Work with ROS 2 components, messaging, telemetry, and robotic software interfaces.
Develop, maintain, and debug software primarily in Python, with exposure to C++; build utilities, APIs, diagnostic tools, and automated test scripts.
Work with Linux development environments and NVIDIA Jetson edge-computing platforms; support CAN, TCP/IP, UDP, serial, and MQTT communications.
Assist with ROS 2 nodes, services, topics, and system integration; use Git/GitHub for version control, code reviews, and collaborative development.
Diagnose software, networking, sensor, and hardware integration issues.
Support computer vision and machine learning development and evaluation; prepare, label, and validate radar and sensor datasets; run inference benchmarks and assess model performance.
Support deployment and optimization of AI models on embedded hardware; process sensor logs, telemetry, and experimental data; assist with model evaluation, fine-tuning workflows, and technical research.
Participate in laboratory, simulation, dockside, and controlled vessel testing; collect and analyze sensor logs, GNSS data, radar recordings, and system telemetry.
Develop repeatable test procedures, document engineering results, troubleshoot integration issues, verify software changes against acceptance criteria, and support technical documentation, test reports, and engineering milestones.
Follow established safety procedures and engineering change-control processes.
Become familiar with development environments, software architecture, and onboard hardware; build, run, and troubleshoot assigned software components; understand vessel navigation telemetry and sensor data flows; and complete initial Python assignments.
Progress toward independently completing defined engineering tasks, assisting with sensor integration and testing, developing diagnostic scripts, contributing tested code, supporting controlled field testing, and investigating defects under senior supervision.