Vehicle Autonomy Lead

Lead the technical execution of the on-vehicle autonomy team

Own autonomy capabilities that run onboard autonomous surface vessels, including navigation, planning, control, behaviors, safety logic, and autonomy execution

Define technical priorities, architecture, interfaces, and development standards for vehicle autonomy systems

Guide autonomy design decisions across reliability, latency, safety, compute constraints, mission performance, and field maintainability

Ensure the vehicle autonomy stack is robust, observable, testable, and ready for real-world maritime operations

Lead, mentor, and support a team of autonomy, robotics, planning, and controls engineers

Provide technical guidance through design reviews, architecture reviews, code reviews, test planning, and field-readiness reviews

Help engineers break down complex autonomy problems into executable technical work

Establish strong engineering practices for autonomy development, integration, simulation, testing, and deployment

Create a team culture built on ownership, technical excellence, mission focus, and fast iteration

Drive autonomy capabilities from concept through implementation, simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, field testing, and deployment

Support vessel integration, field tests, customer demonstrations, and operational evaluations

Diagnose and resolve autonomy issues using logs, telemetry, vehicle data, simulation results, and field observations

Build feedback loops between field failures, autonomy improvements, and product roadmap decisions

Ensure the team delivers autonomy software that can be operated, debugged, and maintained in real mission environments

Work closely with perception, mission software, embedded systems, hardware, product, program, and field operations teams

Translate mission needs and product requirements into vehicle autonomy capabilities

Coordinate interfaces between onboard autonomy, mission planning, command and control, sensors, and platform systems

Communicate technical risks, tradeoffs, and progress clearly to engineering and company leadership

Help align vehicle autonomy development with customer needs, deployment timelines, and long-term product strategy

Innovation: We are driven to break new ground. Every day presents an opportunity to challenge the status quo, think boldly, and deliver advanced solutions that transform the future of defense technology.

Integrity: We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards, ensuring transparency, accountability, and trust in all our actions and partnerships.

Mission-Driven: We are focused on achieving impactful outcomes that align with our core mission—protecting lives through innovation.

Forward-Leaning: We continuously seek out new opportunities and remain at the forefront of technological advancements. We embrace change and anticipate the challenges of tomorrow with confidence and creativity.

Ownership of All Tasks: At HavocAI, no problem is too complex or too trivial. We believe that greatness comes from tackling the hardest challenges, but also in handling the smallest, sometimes thankless, tasks with the same level of commitment and care.

Servant Leadership: We lead by serving others, whether it’s supporting our employees, partners, or the broader community. Empowering those around us is key to achieving long-term success and making a lasting impact.

HavocAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.