Systems & Robotics Engineer

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS: 1. CURRENT PENN STATE EMPLOYEE (faculty, staff, technical service, or student), please login to Workday to complete the internal application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. 2. CURRENT PENN STATE STUDENT (not employed previously at the university) and seeking employment with Penn State, please login to Workday to complete the student application process. Please do not apply here, apply internally through Workday. 3. If you are NOT a current employee or student, please click "Apply" and complete the application process for external applicants. Approval of remote and hybrid work is not guaranteed regardless of work location.For additional information on remote work at Penn State, seeNotice to Out of State Applicants. POSITION SPECIFICS Your working location can/will be fully on-site located in State College, PA. This role requires periodic travel to remote locations. We are searching for highly motivated Systems & Robotics Engineers to join Autonomy and Emerging Technology (AET) Department at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at Penn State. The AET Department serves as ARL's innovation hub for developing and evaluating advanced capabilities in the Subsea and Seabed Warfare (SSW) mission space. This role will work at the intersection of autonomy, underwater robotics, and prototype system integration to rapidly transition new technologies to Navy sponsors. Our team is expanding to support the SSW mission area. ARL is an authorized DoD SkillBridge partner and welcomes all transitioning military members to apply. You will: 1. Technical: Develop and integrate autonomy architectures for UxVs; design and test novel SSW payloads, sensors, navigation solutions, and undersea effectors; contribute to mission analysis, system architecture, and deployment strategies 2. Team Collaboration: Work within a multidisciplinary team covering undersea navigation, endurance optimization, acoustic communications, environmental modeling, and autonomy enabled CONOPS 3. Simulation and Test: Build prototype architectures using SIL and HIL environments and conduct field testing with unmanned platforms in representative maritime conditions 4. Cross-Lab Engagement: Interact and collaborate regularly with software team, project lead and other collaborators throughout the lab Additional responsibilities for higher-level position includes: 1. Manage technical tasks and engineering projects of varying size and complexity, including responsibility for technical performance, schedules, budgets, deliverables, and risk management 2. Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of engineers, scientists, software developers, technicians, and external research partners to accomplish program objectives 3. Ensure engineering activities comply with applicable sponsor requirements, engineering standards, quality requirements, cybersecurity policies, export control regulations, information assurance requirements, and laboratory security procedures 4. Support research conducted within Unclassified, Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and Classified environments while safeguarding sensitive technical information and government-furnished data 5. Participate in technology transition activities, including system integration, operational demonstrations, customer evaluations, manufacturing support, and field implementation 6. Identify technical risks and develop mitigation strategies to improve program execution, system performance, reliability, maintainability, and mission effectiveness 7. Initiate and contribute to business development activities through technical concept development, customer engagement, proposal preparation, Independent Research and Development (IRAD) initiatives, and strategic technology planning 8. Mentor and provide technical leadership to junior engineers, engineering technologists, engineering support personnel, int rns, and students 9. Maintain technical expertise through continued professional development, participation in technical working groups, awareness of emerging technologies, and engagement with the defense research community Required Skills/Experience areas include: 1. Systems engineering applied to complex hardware/software systems 2. Strong analytical skills and ability to work across disciplines 3. Practical experience with Agile software/system development 4. Testing and evaluating systems and subsystems 5. System architecture for integrated robotic or autonomous systems 6. Active security clearance, at the Secret level or higher Preferred Skills/Experience areas include: 1. UxV / Undersea Systems 2. UxVs, including platforms, payloads, launch and recovery, acoustic communications, and energy management 3. Oceanography, seabed features, or environmental data for autonomy 4. Prior support to Navy missions or UxV fleet experimentation 5. Autonomy and Mission Technologies 6. Autonomy development (behaviors, mission planning, architectures, standards) 7. Navigation for GPS denied environments 8. Sensor integration, payload delivery methods, undersea effectors 9. Counter UxV research or applications 10. Modeling, Simulation, and Evaluation 11. MBSE tools (Cameo, MagicDraw, etc.) 12. Development or use of UxV simulation frameworks 13. Maritime test and evaluation of unmanned platforms MINIMUM EDUCATION, WORK EXPERIENCE & REQUIRED CERTIFICATIONS If filled as R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Senior Professional, this position requires:Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science14+ years of relevant experienceRequired Certifications:NoneIf filled as R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Advanced Professional, this position requires:Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science5+ years of relevant experienceRequired Certifications:NoneIf filled as R&D Engineer - Systems (ARL) - Intermediate Professional, this position requires:Bachelor's Degree - Engineering or Science2+ years of relevant experienceRequired Certifications:None ARL's purpose is to research and develop innovative solutions to challenging scientific, engineering, and technology problems in support of the Navy, the Intel Community (IC), and other federal government customers. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION on ARL, visit our website at www.arl.psu.edu. BACKGROUND CHECKS/CLEARANCES Employment with the University will require successful completion of background check(s) in accordance with University policies.Notice regardin