Software Engineer

Job Title: Lead Engineer – Autonomy

Job Description

The Lead Engineer – Autonomy designs, develops, and integrates autonomy software for active safety, advanced driver assistance systems, and unmanned ground vehicle control, with a strong focus on embedded systems. This role centers on building and enhancing autonomy capabilities—such as motion planning, perception, and sensor processing—and integrating them into production equipment including boom lifts, scissor lifts, and telehandlers. You will work primarily in C++, contributing to software architecture, computer vision, sensor fusion, graphical user interfaces, and inter-process messaging.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop, and integrate autonomy software for active safety, advanced driver assistance systems, and unmanned ground vehicle control and embedded systems.

• Implement and refine motion planning, perception, computer vision, and sensor processing algorithms to support autonomy features.

• Develop and integrate autonomy software into production equipment such as boom lifts, scissor lifts, and telehandlers.

• Perform engineering calculations, investigations, software development, hardware selection, and other assigned tasks in accordance with industry engineering standards and processes.

• Develop software unit tests and regression tests to ensure reliability, maintainability, and performance of autonomy features.

• Support field tests by deploying, testing, and troubleshooting autonomy software on physical machines and equipment.

• Assist more Lead engineers in preparing plans, designs, computation methods, and technical reports.

• Take responsibility for defined portions of projects of limited to moderate complexity, ensuring tasks are completed on time and to specification.

• Collaborate with supervisors, suppliers, engineering specialists, and cross-functional teams to meet specifications and perform calculations, analysis, and design activities.

• Write clear and comprehensive requirements, design documentation, and technical specifications for autonomy systems and related software components.

• Provide direct support to programs, including travel to off-site locations as necessary to support engineering activities and field deployments.

• Contribute to the enhancement of existing autonomy capabilities and integration of autonomy solutions into existing products.

• Participate in code reviews, design discussions, and continuous improvement initiatives to enhance code quality and development processes.

• Maintain regular, reliable attendance and actively engage with on-site hardware and machines to validate and refine autonomy behavior.

• Perform other related engineering and software development duties as assigned.

Essential Skills

• Proven ability to produce high-quality, maintainable C++ code, with approximately 99% of development work in C++.

• Embedded systems experience, including development and integration of software on embedded platforms.

• Hands-on autonomy experience, with a focus on perception and path planning as core components of previous work.

• Experience building autonomy systems from scratch, improving existing autonomy capabilities, or integrating autonomy solutions into existing products.

• Proficiency in modern software development practices, including structured design, testing, and documentation.

• Familiarity with distributed systems and their application in autonomy or control environments.

• Familiarity with Ubuntu 22.04+ or similar Linux-based operating systems for development and deployment.

• Accredited bachelor’s degree in engineering or a related field.

• Three (3) or more years of related experience in autonomy, embedded systems, robotics, or a closely aligned domain.

• Ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams and support field testing on physical equipment.

Additional Skills & Qualifications

• Experience with active safety, advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), or unmanned ground vehicle control.

• Expereince in robotics, automotive, aerospace, or defense autonomy programs, particularly involving perception and motion planning.

• Exposure to or use of SQL in support of development, testing, or data analysis workflows.

• Experience developing or supporting graphical user interfaces and inter-process messaging frameworks.

• Comfort working with early-career engineering teams and providing practical, real-world autonomy perspective.

• Ability to adapt autonomy solutions to production environments and to balance innovation with robustness and maintainability.

• Strong documentation skills, including writing clear requirements, design documents, and test plans.

Work Environment

The role operates within an early-career smart, and technically capable engineering team, where many colleagues are early in their careers and eager to learn. The environment emphasizes practical autonomy development on real machines rather than purely theoretical or simulation-only work, allowing engineers to see the direct impact of their code on physical equipment in the field. The official work model is a hybrid schedule of approximately three days on-site and two days remote per week, though most employees typically spend around four days on-site with an average of one work-from-home day. There is substantial flexibility in practice, but on-site presence remains important due to frequent interaction with hardware and machines for testing and validation. The culture supports meaningful autonomy challenges, faster visibility of impact, and a more balanced work-life environment compared to many large automotive or defense programs.

Job Type & Location

This is a Permanent position based out of Frederick, MD.

Pay and Benefits

The pay range for this position is $130000.00 - $140000.00/yr.

Individual compensation offered for this position within this range will depend on many factors, including qualifications, skills, relevant experience, job knowledge, geographic location, internal equity, and other pertinent job-related factors.

• Medical, dental & vision • Critical Illness, Accident, and Hospital • 401(k) Retirement Plan – Pre-tax and Roth post-tax contributions available • Life Insurance (Voluntary Life & AD&D for the employee and dependents) • Short and long-term disability • Health Spending Account (HSA) • Transportation benefits • Employee Assistance Program • Time Off/Leave (PTO, Vacation or Sick Leave)

Workplace Type

This is a hybrid position in Frederick,MD.

Application Deadline

This position is anticipated to close on Sep 18, 2026.

About Actalent

Actalent is a global leader in engineering and sciences services and talent solutions. We help visionary companies advance their engineering and science initiatives through access to specialized experts who drive scale, innovation and speed to market. With a network of almost 20,000 consultants and 5,000 clients across the U.S., Canada, Asia and Europe, Actalent serves many of the Fortune 500. We are proud to be an Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top 500 Design Firm for our engineering design services and a ClearlyRated Best of Staffing® winner for both client and talent service.

The company is an equal opportunity employer and will consider all applications without regard to race, sex, age, color, religion, national origin, veteran status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information or any characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to request a reasonable accommodation, such as the modification or adjustment of the job application process or interviewing process due to a disability, please email View email address on click.appcast.io for other accommodation options.

San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance: Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, for all positions located in the city and county of San Francisco, we will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Massachusetts Lie Detector: It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI): We may use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support parts of our hiring process, including sourcing, screening, and evaluating candidates. AI helps assess applications and qualifications, but final decisions are made by our hiring team. By applying, you acknowledge and agree that your application may be reviewed using AI tools.