Research Scientist I – Marine Robotics
About The Position
The Center for Marine Autonomy and Robotics (CMAR) at Virginia Tech is seeking a hands-on Research Scientist to develop and operate advanced marine robotic systems. The role involves designing, developing, integrating, testing, and deploying electrical and software systems for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and other marine robotic platforms. Work spans embedded electronics and firmware, power and communications systems, sensors and actuators, onboard computing, robotic software, and system-level integration. The Research Scientist will collaborate with faculty, research staff, graduate students, industry partners, and government sponsors to develop and demonstrate new marine robotics capabilities. The position contributes to sponsored research from initial design and development through laboratory testing, field deployment, and demonstrations. Additional work includes technical documentation, research reporting, proposal development, and dissemination of results through technical presentations and scholarly publications. The position requires U.S. citizenship to access and handle Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), as well as the ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance. A criminal conviction check is required.
Requirements
- Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a closely related engineering discipline, or a bachelor’s degree plus five or more years of post-bachelor’s experience.
- Experience designing, developing, and testing robotic systems for marine or similarly challenging environments, including software development, integration, and testing.
- Experience developing, integrating, and testing electrical subsystems.
- Experience integrating embedded systems, microcontrollers, and onboard computers.
- Experience integrating hardware, software, and electrical systems.
- Experience with field deployment, operation, and testing.
- Experience with relevant programming languages such as C++, Python, or MATLAB.
- Experience with Ubuntu or similar Linux distributions.
- Experience with ROS, ROS2, or comparable robotics software frameworks.
- Experience with Git or comparable version control software.
- Experience with serial communications, Ethernet, CAN, or other communication protocols used in robotic systems.
- Experience with motor controllers, actuators, sensors, power electronics, battery systems, and communications systems used in robotic systems.
- Ability to work independently and collaboratively within multidisciplinary engineering and research teams.
- U.S. citizenship.
- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance.
Nice To Haves
- Experience designing printed circuit boards and electronic systems.
- Experience developing embedded firmware for microcontrollers.
- Experience designing unmanned underwater vehicles.
- Experience planning and executing field deployments of unmanned underwater vehicles.
- Experience with robotic perception, planning, control, localization, or other autonomous system capabilities.
- Record of peer-reviewed scholarly publications.
- Experience working on federally sponsored research projects or collaborating with industry or government research partners.
- Experience mentoring graduate or undergraduate student researchers.
- Strong communication skills.
Responsibilities
- Design, develop, integrate, test, and deploy electrical and software systems for AUVs and other marine robotic platforms.
- Work on embedded electronics and firmware, power and communications systems, sensors and actuators, onboard computing, robotic software, and system-level integration.
- Collaborate with faculty, research staff, graduate students, industry partners, and government sponsors to develop and demonstrate marine robotics capabilities.
- Contribute to sponsored research projects from initial design and development through laboratory testing, field deployment, and demonstration.
- Prepare technical documentation and research reports.
- Contribute to proposal development.
- Disseminate research results through technical presentations and scholarly publications.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Entry Level
