HavocAI

HavocAI

Director of Autonomy

Greater Boston · Director

No sponsorshipDetected 28 days ago
AlgorithmsLinuxProduct StrategyEmbedded SystemsSystems EngineeringRoboticsMechanical DesignAerospace EngineeringElectrical EngineeringSensorsControlsLeadershipCommunicationMentoring

About the role

  • This is a senior technical leadership role for someone who has deep experience across robotics, perception, motion planning, controls, and fielded autonomous systems.
  • This role requires both breadth and depth.
  • You should be able to reason across perception, planning, control, vehicle behavior, multi-agent coordination, simulation, testing, and deployment.

Responsibilities

  • Own the technical direction for HavocAI's autonomy systems across perception, planning, controls, behaviors, and vehicle-level decision-making
  • Lead technical tradeoffs across performance, safety, reliability, latency, compute constraints, scalability, and mission needs
  • Ensure autonomy capabilities are designed for real-world maritime operations, not just simulation or controlled environments
  • Drive technical alignment between autonomy, perception, mission software, embedded systems, hardware, and field operations
  • Partner with perception and sensor teams to ensure autonomy systems use perception outputs effectively and safely
  • Drive the maturation of autonomy from prototype capabilities into reliable, repeatable, fielded systems
  • Lead and mentor a high-performing team of autonomy, robotics, perception, planning, and controls engineers
  • Provide technical guidance to engineering managers, tech leads, and senior individual contributors
  • Establish strong engineering practices around design reviews, architecture reviews, testing, simulation, integration, and field readiness
  • Help recruit, evaluate, and develop top technical talent across the autonomy organization

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field
  • 10+ years of experience in robotics, autonomy, autonomous vehicles, unmanned systems, maritime autonomy, aerospace, defense technology, or related fields
  • Proven experience leading teams of engineers from a technical perspective
  • Strong understanding of autonomy software stacks, including perception integration, planning, control, behaviors, simulation, testing, and deployment
  • Experience taking robotic or autonomous systems from prototype through fielded deployment
  • Strong systems engineering judgment and ability to make architecture-level decisions across complex autonomy systems
  • Experience working in Linux-based development environments with modern software engineering practices
  • Ability to mentor senior engineers, set technical direction, and raise the engineering bar across teams
  • Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts, tradeoffs, and risks to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
  • Advanced degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field
  • Extensive technical background across robotics, perception, motion planning, control systems, and autonomous system architecture
  • High ownership, strong judgment, and comfort operating in fast-moving, ambiguous environments
  • Passion for mission-critical autonomy and real-world robotic systems
  • U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance

Skills

  • Experience with autonomous surface vessels, maritime autonomy, naval systems, or maritime domain awareness
  • Experience leading autonomy teams in defense, aerospace, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or dual-use technology companies
  • Experience with multi-agent autonomy, collaborative autonomy, swarm robotics, or distributed robotic systems
  • Deep experience with motion planning, trajectory generation, behavior planning, collision avoidance, controls, or guidance systems
  • Experience with perception systems, sensor fusion, radar, EO/IR cameras, AIS, GPS/INS, or other maritime sensor modalities
  • Experience with simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, autonomy verification and validation, and field test programs
  • Familiarity with ROS2, DDS, MOOS-IvP, autonomy middleware, or distributed robotics architectures
  • Experience supporting government, DoD, or defense customer programs
  • Active or prior security clearance

Benefits

  • 100% Employer paid Health, Dental and Vision Insurance for you and your families
  • Life Insurance (Employer Paid)
  • Unlimited PTO policy with an enforced 2 week minimum
  • Equity Package
  • Work / Home Office Stipend
  • 16 Week Paid Parental Leave
  • Monthly Health and Wellness Stipend
  • 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.

Company info

  • Havoc is a leader in all-domain collaborative autonomy. Its software-defined hardware approach powers military and commercial-grade autonomous systems across sea, air, and land to sense, decide, and act together in complex and contested environments. Havoc connects assets, enabling them to share information, adapt in real time, and continue operating even when communications are disrupted or denied. Havoc optimizes mission performance and minimizes human risk.
  • Havoc was founded in 2024 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Learn more at Havoc: All-Domain Collaborative Autonomy http://havocai.com/.
  • Havoc is a leader in all-domain collaborative autonomy.
  • Its software-defined hardware approach powers military and commercial-grade autonomous systems across sea, air, and land to sense, decide, and act together in complex and contested environments.
  • Havoc connects assets, enabling them to share information, adapt in real time, and continue operating even when communications are disrupted or denied.
  • Havoc optimizes mission performance and minimizes human risk.
  • Havoc was founded in 2024 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island.
  • Learn more at Havoc: All-Domain Collaborative Autonomy http://havocai.com/.
  • As the Director of Autonomy, you will lead the technical direction, execution, and growth within HavocAI's autonomy organization.
  • You will be responsible for building and scaling the systems that enable autonomous vehicles to perceive, plan, coordinate, and operate in complex maritime environments.
  • You will lead teams of engineers from a technical perspective, set architecture and execution priorities, mentor senior engineers, and ensure that autonomy capabilities move quickly from concept to deployed mission capability.

Equal opportunity

  • 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.
  • Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace.

Visa & Work Authorization

  • citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
Apply directly at HavocAI →Create a free account for alerts like thisView HavocAI immigration profile

This listing is sourced directly from HavocAI's careers page and normalized into a canonical job model.