Senior Secure Autonomous System Test Engineer

Technology Innovation Institute (TII) is a publicly funded research institute, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It is home to a diverse community of leading scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and researchers from across the globe, transforming problems and roadblocks into pioneering research and technology prototypes that help move society ahead.

General Activities

• Responsible for conducting end-to-end system tests on secure autonomous systems, especially Fixed Wing and VTOL UAVs. These include testing security, safety, and resilience of autonomous systems.
• Working with experts from external, internal and facilities teams to develop the environment to conduct experiments
  
  

Functional Activities

• Design, develop, and integrate secure autonomous control systems for fixedwing and VTOL UAVs.
• Closely work with secure autonomous hardware, firmware and software teams in developing the environments for experiments.
• Plan and execute test procedures to verify software and system performance at all levels of integration on the vehicle.
• Create detailed technical reports to outline the outcome of tests conducted and concise technical documentation on how to recreate system tests.
• Keep the UxV fleet flight ready for testing newly developed software.
• Perform hands-on mechanical and electrical integration of new hardware components on the UAVs for testing.
• Create well documented bugs on Jira of issues detected during testing.
• Write programs to improve the existing software infrastructure of the autonomous UxV, in areas like obstacle avoidance, path planning etc.
• Debug and configure ROS2 implementation on the companion computer.
• Learning and dynamically applying knowledge of the device, system, protocols, and industry standards.
  
  

Industry / Domain

• Expertise in integrating UAV subsystems, such as propulsion, navigation, payload, and performing validation tests. Knowledge of system interfaces and the ability to troubleshoot and resolve hardware-software integration issues.
• Knowledge of flight test protocols, data collection methods, and analysis techniques.
• Expertise in testing various payloads (e.g., cameras, sensors, LIDAR) and ensuring proper integration and functionality.
• Experience in risk analysis and management strategies, ensuring that UAV testing and deployment are conducted safely. This includes developing and implementing risk mitigation plans for test environments
  
  

Necessary Knowledge And Experience

• 5+ years development or test and verification experience in research and/or advanced technology with UxVs.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience with fixed-wing and/or VTOL UAV design and operation.
• Knowledge of validation and verification of secure systems is nice to have
• Hands-on experience in C/C++/Java/Python, a clear understanding of OS fundamentals, strong computer science skills and a passion for keeping solutions safe
• Extensive experience with ROS/ROS2 for autonomous swarm UAV development.
• Excellent knowledge of UAV hardware, like Pixhawk and open-source software like Ardupilot and PX4.
• Experience with different UAV communication protocols like Mavlink, Ethernet, CAN, UART etc.
• Experience in integrating, operating, and tuning autopilots on UAVs is essential.
• Good working knowledge of UAV safety regulations and safe working operations.
• Practical knowledge of rapid prototyping tools and techniques (e.g., CAD, 3D printing, soldering).
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experienced with any of the commonly used devops tools like jenkins, hydra, git, JIRA etc
  
  

Education And Certification Requirements

• Masters or PhD in Computer Science or relevant discipline
• Bachelors in Computer Science or relevant discipline with 5+ years of research or industry experience
  
  

Qualified candidates must meet minimum requirements for the position

At TII, we help society to overcome its biggest hurdles through a rigorous approach to scientific discovery and inquiry, using state-of-the-art facilities and collaboration with leading international institutions. Our rigorous discovery and inquiry-based approach helps to forge new and disruptive breakthroughs in advanced materials, autonomous robotics, cryptography, digital security, directed energy, quantum computing and secure systems.

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