UAV Robotics Engineer

$90,000 - $220,000/Yr

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory - Laurel, MD

Full-time - Mid Level

Laurel, MD

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

About the position

The Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Robotics Engineer at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab will be responsible for designing, integrating, and testing UAV systems and payloads. This role involves leading mechanical engineering projects, collaborating with a diverse team, and contributing to the development of systems for national defense. The engineer will engage in hands-on work, utilizing CAD tools, and will be a subject matter expert in UAV technologies.

Responsibilities

• Leading hands-on mechanical engineering projects with a diverse team of engineers and technicians.
• Designing mechanical systems using Computer Aided Design (CAD) and other modeling/design tools as needed (i.e., Solidworks, Creo Parametric, ANSYS).
• Serving as one of the UAV subject matter experts for a research laboratory.
• Analyzing and testing complex mechanical systems.
• Fabricating, assembling and integrating hardware onto experimental and prototype UAV systems for test and evaluation.
• Working with a team to conduct both local and remote field testing of UAV systems.
• Developing test plans, conducting tests and preparing technical documentation of test results.
• Preparing for and conducting periodic design reviews, as well as technical reports and other briefing materials, for presentation to all levels of staff and Government agencies.
• Working closely with APL electrical engineers, systems engineers, software engineers, fabrication shops and external vendors to ensure project requirements and deadlines are met.

Requirements

• BS degree in Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering, Robotics or related field.
• 5 or more years of relevant experience designing, fabricating, integrating, testing and/or operating UAV airframes.
• Experience with CAD (i.e., SolidWorks, CREO) and an understanding of how to design components for various manufacturing processes.
• Demonstrated initiative and ability to multi-task in a fast-paced work environment with tight delivery schedules on diverse systems that operate on land, sea, or air.
• Ability to work both independently and in groups to meet deadlines and deliver results.
• Willingness to support both local and remote field testing 5-10% of the time.
• Ability to quickly learn and develop new skills to support novel engineering efforts.
• Experience with taking a system through the life-cycle process, from concept design to system delivery.
• Effective communication skills, both orally and in writing, with other engineers, scientists, and technicians as a member of a multidisciplinary team.
• Ability to obtain an Interim Secret level security clearance by your start date and can ultimately obtain a Secret level clearance.

Nice-to-haves

• MS or PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aeronautical/Aerospace Engineering, Robotics or related field.
• Current FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate and experience with manually piloting fixed wing, helicopter, multirotor or VTOL UAVs.
• Five or more years of experience designing, modeling, and integrating fixed wing, helicopter, multirotor or VTOL UAV airframes.
• Experience with integrating, tuning and operating open-source UAV autopilot firmware (i.e., ArduPilot, PX4, iNav, Betaflight) or other open-source UAV firmware.
• Experience with small UAV electronics and sensors (flight controllers, ESCs, IMUs, GPS receivers, EO/IR cameras, etc.).
• Experience with stress or thermal analysis using finite element software packages (i.e., ANSYS, COMSOL) or physics-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software.
• Experience with MATLAB, Python, C++, ROS or related software packages.
• Experience with rapid prototyping and manufacturing of experimental prototype systems.
• An active secret security clearance.

Benefits

• Robust education assistance program
• Unparalleled retirement contributions
• Healthy work/life balance
• Comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, flexible spending accounts, education assistance, and training and development.