Senior Associate Software Engineer

About the position

The Senior Associate Software Engineer will be developing and implementing AI algorithms that enable coordinated behavior and autonomous decision-making in swarms of drones. The Engineer will work on cutting-edge projects that require innovative thinking and a deep understanding of AI, robotics and drone technologies. The ideal candidate will have a strong background in AI, machine learning and robotics, with specific experience in swarm intelligence and multi-agent systems.

Responsibilities

• Design and develop AI algorithms for swarm intelligence, enabling drones to communicate, collaborate and perform tasks autonomously in a coordinated manner.
• Create and utilize simulation environments to test and validate swarm behaviors, ensuring robustness and efficiency before deployment in real-world scenarios.
• Implement real-time data processing and decision-making algorithms to facilitate dynamic adaptation of the swarm to changing environments and mission requirements.
• Integrate AI algorithms with drone hardware and software systems, ensuring seamless operation and communication within the swarm.
• Optimize swarm algorithms for performance, scalability and energy efficiency, considering the constraints of onboard processing power and battery life.
• Work closely with cross-functional teams, including hardware engineers, software developers and field operators, to define requirements and deliver solutions that meet project goals.
• Stay current with the latest advancements in AI, swarm robotics and multi-agent systems and apply new techniques to enhance the capabilities of our drone swarms.
• Maintain comprehensive documentation of algorithms, simulation results and system configurations for future reference and reproducibility.
• Conduct field tests and demonstrations to evaluate the performance of drone swarms in real-world conditions, making adjustments as necessary to improve functionality.

Requirements

• Bachelor's Degree and minimum 2 years of software experience, or Graduate Degree and a minimum of 0-2 years of software experience, or in lieu of a degree, minimum of 6 years of software experience.
• 2+ years of experience in AI, machine learning, robotics, with specific experience in swarm intelligence or multi-agent systems.
• Experience with Agile development principles.

Nice-to-haves

• Knowledge of military standards and regulations.
• Familiarity with the US DoD ground vehicle requirements.
• Proficiency in programming languages such as Python, C++, Java or Rust.
• Experience with machine learning frameworks and libraries such as TensorFlow, TensorFlow Lite, TensorRT, PyTorch, PyTorch Mobile, or scikit-learn.
• Strong knowledge of swarm intelligence algorithms and multi-agent systems.
• Familiarity with robotics software frameworks such as ROS (Robot Operating System).
• Understanding of real-time operating systems (RTOS) and embedded systems.
• Experience with simulation tools like Gazebo, Webots, or custom simulation environments.
• Understanding of communication protocols and networking for drone-to-drone and drone-to-ground communication.
• Familiarity with edge computing platforms and hardware accelerators (e.g., NVIDIA Jetson, Google Coral, ARM Cortex), with focus on NVIDIA Jetson Orin.
• Experience in deploying and optimizing models for edge computing environments.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• High attention to detail and a commitment to ensuring the accuracy and quality of work.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple projects simultaneously.