Senior Autonomous Systems Computer Engineer

Are you an engineer that enjoys developing and fielding groundbreaking electronics systems?

Are you an engineer that enjoys developing and fielding groundbreaking electronics systems?

In the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory's (APL) Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Group, hands‑on engineering is applied to field tomorrow's groundbreaking solutions for government organizations. Dedicated, passionate multidisciplinary staff work side‑by‑side in the lab and in the field to build solutions to mission critical challenges. The people who work here embrace challenges, adapt to dynamic changing environments, and are continually looking to advance their technical and leadership skills.

Our passion for engineering innovative solutions also applies to mentoring and coaching junior staff to continue to strengthen our impactful teams. Are you interested in being a member of our group? Join us at APL, a national leader in scientific research and development, and an employer that prioritizes innovation, impact, and personal development.

We are seeking leaders and mentors with technical backgrounds in computer engineering who enjoy working across traditional discipline boundaries from embedded software development to integration, testing, and system‑level validation to help us rapidly field autonomous sensor systems. Successful candidates are comfortable owning technical problems from concept through deployment, mentoring and leading junior staff in development practices, and ensuring complete systems operate reliably in the real‑world.

With your help, we will continue to develop systems that collect the information needed for our partners to complete their missions in some of the most austere environments around the globe.

you will

• Design and develop sophisticated embedded systems, from system architecture through integration and test, for autonomous platforms operating in challenging environments.
• Mentor junior staff in embedded systems architecture design, embedded software/firmware development, design for test and testing practices, and configuration management.
• Develop and deploy real‑time firmware and algorithms on embedded processors and RTOS‑based platforms to enable sensing, control, navigation, and autonomous operations.
• Plan and execute laboratory and field testing, analyze system performance, troubleshoot hardware and software issues, and drive design improvements using experimental and operational data.
• Document system designs, engineering analyses, and test results, and present technical work to project and design review teams.
• Present concepts, designs and results to internal and external leadership.

You meet our minimum qualification for the job if you...

• Have a Bachelor's degree in Electrical or Computer Engineering, Computer Science, or related field of study.
• Have 8+ years of relevant experience with embedded systems, to include design, development, integration, and/or test of hardware/software systems.
• Have demonstrated an ability and willingness to multi-task across several projects and work independently in small teams while meeting quick turnaround demands.
• Are willing and able to work in classified laboratories and locations around the world to conduct field testing for 15% of your time.
• Can interact effectively with team members of different experience levels and backgrounds, including leadership of teams and projects.
• Are able to obtain an Interim Secret level security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain a Top Secret level clearance. If selected, you will be subject to a government security clearance investigation and must meet the requirements for access to classified…