Associate Branch Head; Robotics Engineer ATAS

Project/Unit Description

A full‑time, permanent position is available as the Associate Branch Chief for the Collaborative Autonomy Branch (CAB) within the Robotics and Autonomous Systems Division (RASD) of the Aerospace, Transportation and Advanced Systems Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). RASD/CAB has 18 employees providing analysis, research and development supporting autonomous multi‑agent systems and associated testing and development efforts. Capabilities provided by RASD/CAB include software development, simulation, and field testing of collaborative multi‑agent systems.

The development of autonomy behaviors and associated control of physical systems is a core area of responsibility for branch personnel. GTRI is searching for an associate branch leader and engineer/scientist with a master’s degree and 2+ years of experience in multi‑agent autonomy development, simulation, test and evaluation. The successful candidate will have demonstrated experience in the evaluation of autonomous systems and their performance associated with simulated, surrogate and objective platforms.

Program development and program management is required to develop and manage programs in the area of autonomy behavior development, performance evaluation, and testing. The responsibilities of the associate branch leader are shared with the branch chief and split between the management of the branch and actively performing research programs. This position is expected to consume approximately 10%‑25% time. The remaining time is anticipated to come from sponsored research.

The branch is located in Smyrna, GA on the Georgia Tech’s Cobb County Research Facility (CCRF). Travel is required in conducting GTRI research, developing business, meeting with customers and demonstrating applied solutions.

Lead and contribute technically to sponsored research projects. Assist Branch Head with staffing, appraisals, hiring and technical research activities.

This Associate Branch Head position comes with a Technical Working Title of Robotics Engineer.

• Personnel management including student and full‑time Research Faculty hiring, performance evaluations, staffing, early career development, etc., primarily for autonomy behavior development, test and evaluation.
• Management of budgets, resources, and compliance with policies and procedures.
• Oversight of branch programs and operational resources and activities.
• Development of strategic vision and execution plan for the branch in conjunction with the Division and Laboratory Leadership.
• Development of research collaborations between other GTRI laboratories.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• The ideal candidate will have hands‑on experience with state‑of‑the‑art algorithms on real‑world mobile robot systems, including field test experimentation.
• Experience with C++, ROS, Git, Linux, and SCRIMMAGE or similar simulation architectures is a plus.

• Active Secret Clearance.
• Experience with contributing to large programs and executing assigned tasking.
• Managing organization resources and evaluating personnel performance.

• 10% - 25% travel.

This position vacancy is an open‑rank announcement. The final job offer will be dependent on candidate qualifications in alignment with Research Faculty Extension Professional ranks as outlined in section 3.2.1 of the Georgia Tech Faculty Handbook.

• 5-9 years of related experience with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, AI/ML, or any related field.
• 3-7 years of related experience with a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, AI/ML, or any related field.
• 0-4 years of related experience with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Systems Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, AI/ML, or any related field.

Due to our research contracts with the U.S. federal…