Senior Research Engineer I

About this role

Job Title Senior Research Engineer I

Agency Texas A&M University System Offices

Department Bush Combat Development Complex

Proposed Minimum Salary Commensurate

Job Location Bryan, Texas

Job Type Staff

Job Description The System Offices is one of several system members within the Texas A&M University System representing one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a network of 12 universities, a comprehensive health science center, nine state agencies, and the RELLIS Campus. The Texas A&M University System mission is to provide education, conduct research, commercialize technology, offer training, and deliver services for the people of Texas and beyond.

The System Offices, within the Texas A&M University System, provides an outstanding benefits package including, but not limited to: competitive health benefits; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; a defined benefit retirement plan to include an employer contribution through Teachers Retirement System of Texas (TRS); if applicable, a defined contribution retirement plan to include an employer contribution through an approved ORP vendor: additional voluntary tax deferred annuity (TDA) options; tuition assistance; and wellness programs to promote work/life balance.

Salary: $6,251.00 - $10,000.00 per month commensurate with experience.

Job Description Summary: The Senior Research Engineer I serves as a lead technical architect and contributor, driving the high-level design of the BCDC autonomy stacks while scoping and prototyping solutions for emerging technical challenges. At the George H.W. Bush Combat Development Complex (BCDC), the Research Engineer for Multi-Agent Autonomy develops next-generation autonomous systems that enable coordinated, heterogeneous fleets to operate in complex, unstructured environments. This research focuses on the integration of diverse platforms, ranging from tactical UTVs and military-grade UGVs to unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous helicopters. We aim to solve the fundamental challenges of multi-agent coordination and shared situational awareness, fostering the human-agent teaming essential for future mission success. By bridging the gap between sophisticated algorithms and real-world application, our team develops technologies that significantly enhance unit capabilities, mobility, and speed of action. We translate theoretical breakthroughs into field-demonstrated reality through System Experimentation and Field Testing using our multi-vehicle fleet in the diverse off-road terrain of the RELLIS campus.

Responsibilities: - Architects and implements the core frameworks for multi-agent coordination, setting the standard for modularity, performance, and scalability across all BCDC autonomy stacks. - Conducts targeted background research in unfamiliar technical domains to scope emerging problems and develop initial proof-of-concept prototypes, accelerating the team's ability to adopt new methodologies. - Acts as a primary developer for the most complex algorithmic challenges, producing high-performance, robust code (Python/C++) for embedded hardware and ROS2 middleware. - Drives the development of cross-platform communication and shared situational awareness architectures, ensuring the seamless integration of air and ground assets. - Serves as a technical authority on the evolution of the autonomy stacks, identifying and implementing emerging technologies that enhance multi-agent performance. - Directs the design of multi-level simulation environments, ensuring they accurately reflect the complexities of field deployment for heterogeneous fleets. - Architects integrated hardware-software systems, conducting technical trade studies to select sensor suites and compute platforms that optimize mission-level capabilities. - Oversees the system-level integration of ROS2 nodes across complex platforms, including autonomous helicopters and robotic ground vehicles, to ensure hardware-software synergy. - Leads high-stakes System Experimentation and Field Testing at the RELLIS campus, serving as the technical lead for large-scale demonstrations and ensuring mission success. - Analyzes complex field data to generate system-level requirements and performance metrics, closing the loop between experimental results and future development cycles. - Ensures technical continuity across multiple projects, helping the team balance efforts between established research and high-priority new initiatives. - Mentors research staff through high-level design reviews and collaborative implementation, elevating the-technical standard of the entire development group. - Translates high-level mission objectives and guidance from senior staff into robust system architectures and actionable development roadmaps. - Collaborates with faculty and senior staff to identify and pursue new research opportunities, lead the development of technical proposals, and identify strategic funding trajectories for the autonomy group. - Leads the generation of high-impact technical reports, presentations, and peer-reviewed publications.

Education and Experience: - Master’s degree in applicable field or equivalent combination of education and experience. - Six years of related experience. - Experience prototyping architectures for decentralized communication frameworks, with the ability to select and implement middleware solutions for varying mission requirements. - Experience identifying funding opportunities and contributing to the development of technical proposals for research sponsors.

Registration, Certifications, and Licenses: - Must be able to obtain a U.S. Department of War Security Clearance.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities: - Advanced knowledge of system architecture for multi-agent robotics and distributed autonomous systems. - Ability to conduct technical scouting and scoping for novel research challenges in unfamiliar domains. - Capability to develop system-wide frameworks and support technical continuity

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