Launched Effects Autonomy Lead – Systems Architect / Engineer
About The Position
JHNA is seeking a Launched Effects (LE) Autonomy Lead to provide senior-level technical leadership and acquisition support to our government customer within PM UAS / PdM Launched Effects. This role focuses on autonomy architecture, verification, validation, test and evaluation (VV&T), and acquisition integration for attritable and collaborative unmanned systems. The selected candidate will support development and execution of autonomy strategies aligned with Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE), and open architecture principles. Responsibilities include autonomy requirements development, functional decomposition, interface definition, autonomy test strategy development, and evaluation of autonomy behaviors under operationally relevant conditions, including contested and degraded environments. This position operates within an acquisition environment and supports milestone decision processes, technical reviews, risk reduction efforts, and transition of autonomy capabilities into programs of record.
Requirements
- Bachelor of Science in Engineering or equivalent experience level.
- Active Top-Secret clearance.
- 8+ years of engineering experience; 3+ years supporting autonomy, robotics, or unmanned systems.
- Experience supporting DoW acquisition programs or government program offices.
- Experience developing autonomy requirements, verification strategies, and test methodologies.
- Experience applying systems engineering processes for requirements development, traceability, and verification.
- Experience with MBSE tools and methodologies (SysML; DoDAF/UAF preferred).
- Experience supporting integration testing and analyzing system performance results.
- Ability to effectively interact with Government customers and defense contractors.
- Strong written and technical communication skills.
Nice To Haves
- Experience with Launched Effects, attritable UAS, loitering munitions, or collaborative unmanned systems.
- Experience supporting autonomy validation in contested or GPS-denied environments.
- Familiarity with MOSA, FACE, SOSA, CMOSS, or related open architecture standards.
- Experience supporting autonomy safety assessments and airworthiness considerations.
- Understanding of human control modes (HITL, HOTL, HOFTL) and scalable autonomy constructs.
- Experience supporting developmental test (DT), operational test (OT), or rapid prototyping efforts.
- Familiarity with autonomy performance metrics, collaborative behaviors, and mission-level evaluation.
- Experience supporting milestone reviews (SRR, PDR, CDR, TRR, etc.).
Responsibilities
- Serve as the technical lead for autonomy integration across the Launched Effects portfolio.
- Develop and refine autonomy architectures consistent with MOSA, open systems standards, and PEO Aviation objectives.
- Lead development of autonomy requirements, performance measures, verification criteria, and acceptance thresholds.
- Support autonomy Verification, Validation, Test, and Evaluation (VV&T) planning and execution across developmental and operational test events.
- Develop autonomy test strategies, scenarios, and integration plans for hardware-in-the-loop (HITL), software-in-the-loop (SIL), and flight test events.
- Assess autonomy behaviors including navigation, perception, collaborative behaviors, decision authority allocation, and human control modes.
- Support evaluation of autonomy performance under degraded, denied, intermittent, and limited (DDIL) conditions.
- Analyze test data to assess system impacts, integration risks, performance gaps, and transition readiness.
- Coordinate with government stakeholders, prime contractors, and autonomy vendors to ensure architectural alignment and technical traceability.
- Provide autonomy-related inputs to acquisition documentation, technical review boards, and milestone decision packages.
- Support transition of autonomy technologies from S&T to acquisition programs.
- Identify technical risks and provide mitigation strategies related to autonomy integration, safety, cybersecurity, and operational employment.
- Conduct research into emerging autonomy best practices and recommend adoption pathways for PM UAS.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
