Collaborative Autonomy Engineer - Cross Domain

About Applied Intuition

Applied Intuition is the vehicle intelligence company that accelerates the global adoption of safe, AI-driven machines. Founded in 2017, Applied Intuition delivers the toolchain, Vehicle OS, and autonomy stacks to help customers build intelligent vehicles and shorten time to market. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers and major programs across the Department of Defense trust Applied Intuition\'s solutions to deliver vehicle intelligence. Applied Intuition serves the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining, and agriculture industries and is headquartered in Mountain View, CA, with offices in Washington, D.C., San Diego, CA, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, Ann Arbor, MI, London, Stuttgart, Munich, Stockholm, Seoul, and Tokyo. Learn more at appliedintuition.com.

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that employees primarily work from our Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. (Note: For EpiSci job openings, fully remote work will be considered by exception.)

About EpiSci

EpiSci, an Applied Intuition company, develops next-generation, tactical autonomy solutions for national security problems. EpiSci\'s autonomy software is technology agnostic, operationally informed, tactically relevant, and has piloted swarms of uncrewed aerial systems and tactical fighter aircraft. Additional applications include crewed-uncrewed teaming for air dominance, cognitive sensors, and networks for advanced communications systems, as well as battle management command and control for informed decision-making. EpiSci delivers unmatched speed, cost-efficiency, and scalability as the preferred partner for defense agencies and industry teams seeking mission-critical autonomy solutions.

About the role

As a Collaborative Autonomy Engineer on the Cross Domain Autonomy team, you will be pivotal in developing collaborative autonomy behaviors for large teams of heterogeneous autonomous vehicles across different domains (e.g., surface, air) with different sensor suites (e.g., camera, radar) that work together to accomplish complex mission vignettes. Your team will continuously add capability and demonstrate the solution to customers in real-world scenarios on a variety of hardware platforms. Your responsibility will primarily be designing and developing multi-agent, multi-domain behavioral autonomy algorithms, but you will work with the team to make the entire system successful.

Responsibilities

• Adapt and develop cutting edge, modular autonomy capabilities in optimization, persistent search, and coordinated behaviors, applicable to defense problems.
• Integrate tactical autonomy solutions onto hardware platforms, interface sensors, and test and validate autonomous behaviors, including on-site demonstrations with the US Navy.
• Design, test, and implement software within a component-based architecture, including integrating externally developed software capabilities when needed.
• Deploy containerized autonomy solutions to embedded Linux devices, perform computer-in-the-loop testing and profiling, and collect performance data.
• Troubleshoot and debug complex issues related to behavioral autonomy and system performance to ensure robust operation.
• Contribute novel engineering ideas, algorithms, and concepts for research and development projects.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, domain experts, prior DoD warfighters, and program managers to build software solutions for military missions.
• Effectively communicate solutions to a diverse team of engineers, program managers, executives, and sponsors.

Qualifications

• MS or PhD in Robotic Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Optimization, or equivalent OR 5 years of relevant experience.
• Understanding of multi-agent algorithms including Ant-Colony Optimization, Swarm Particle Optimization, Stigmergy, and Wolf Pack Algorithm.
• Experience with Swarm or Multi-agent Systems and Optimization.
• Deep understanding of behavior logic frameworks (state machines, behavior trees, hierarchical task networks).
• Experience with modern C++ development (C++11/14/17/20), CMake, Python and Bash.
• Comfortable in Windows, Linux, and Docker.
• Prior experience with remote software development, ability to handle and process large datasets, and willingness to learn new software and algorithms with minimal supervision.

Travel and Security

• Willing to travel as projects require (approximately 10-20%, typically 1–2 trips per month for 2–5 days).
• Relocation assistance available to HQ in Poway, CA for travel-adverse candidates.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen and eligible to obtain/maintain a U.S. security clearance.

Nice to have

• Ability to solve complex problems with minimal supervision in a fast-paced environment.
• Strong prioritization, collaboration, and communication skills.
• PhD in computer science or engineering (electrical & computer, systems and industrial, mechanical, etc.).
• Machine learning expertise (supervised/unsupervised), deep learning and neural architectures (CNNs, RNNs, GANs, transformers).
• Proficiency in C++, Python (TensorFlow and PyTorch), and Bash.
• Experience with robotics SDKs (ROS2) and Docker.
• Familiarity with Agile methodologies and CI/CD.
• Experience with edge computing and real-time systems.
• Experience with COTS hardware devices (e.g., Nvidia Jetson, Xilinx RF/MPSOC).
• Demonstrated interdisciplinary learning and current U.S. SECRET clearance.

Compensation and Equal Opportunity

Compensation includes base salary, equity, and benefits. The base salary range for this location is $100,000 to $190,000 USD annually, with actual offers influenced by experience, credentials, and interview performance. Applied Intuition is an equal opportunity employer and federal contractor/subcontractor. We comply with applicable equal employment opportunity laws and regulations.

NOTICE: This position may require access to U.S. classified information. Information collected is used to determine eligibility for government contracts. Providing this information is voluntary.