Autonomous Systems Engineer

Autonomous Systems Engineer UAV / Drone Systems

Location : Surat, Gujarat

Department : Drone Engineering / R&D

Position Type : Full-Time

Role Overview :

We are seeking a highly skilled Autonomous Systems Engineer to develop and integrate autonomous capabilities into UAV platforms. The candidate will work on companion computer integration, AI-based vision systems, autonomous navigation, and intelligent drone behaviours for surveillance, inspection, and field applications. The role involves working closely with flight controllers, companion computers, sensors, and AI algorithms to implement advanced features, including object detection, tracking, autonomous following, and mission automation.

Key Responsibilities :

1. Companion Computer Integration :

- Integrate and configure companion computers, such as :

1. Raspberry Pi

2. NVIDIA Jetson Nano / Xavier

3. ModalAI VOXL

- Interface companion computers with flight controllers using :

1. MAVLink / MAVSDK

2. ROS / ROS2

3. UART / USB / Ethernet communication

2. Autonomous Drone Features Development :

- Develop and implement advanced drone capabilities, including :

1. Object detection and tracking

2. Target following

3. Visual navigation

4. Autonomous waypoint navigation

5. Obstacle detection and avoidance

6. Payload tracking (camera gimbal tracking)

7. AI-based mission execution

3. Computer Vision & AI :

- Implement computer vision algorithms for :

1. Object detection (YOLO, TensorRT, OpenCV)

2. Visual tracking

3. Image processing

4. Target recognition

- Optimise AI models for edge computing devices.

4. Sensor Integration :

- Integrate and process data from sensors such as :

1. RGB cameras

2. Thermal cameras

3. Depth cameras

4. LiDAR

5. Optical flow sensors

6. GPS/RTK systems

5. Software Development :

- Develop and maintain drone autonomy software using :

1. Python

2. C++

3. ROS / ROS2

4. OpenCV

5. TensorFlow / PyTorch

6. MAVSDK / MAVROS

6. Flight Controller Integration :

- Work with flight controllers such as PX4 and ArduPilot.

- Tasks include :

1. MAVLink communication

2. Offboard control

3. Custom flight behaviours

4. Mission scripting

7. Testing & Deployment :

- Conduct field testing of autonomous drone missions.

- Debug system integration issues.

- Optimise performance for real-world environments.

- Support drone deployment for surveillance and industrial operations.

Required Skills :

Core Technical Skills :

- UAV system architecture

- Companion computer integration

- Computer vision and AI

- MAVLink communication

- ROS / ROS2

- Image processing

- Object detection algorithms

- Drone autonomy frameworks

Hardware Knowledge :

- Flight controllers (PX4 / ArduPilot)

- Companion computers (Jetson, Raspberry Pi, VOXL)

- Camera systems

- UAV sensors

- Power and communication systems

Programming Skills :

- Python

- C++

- Linux

- Shell scripting

- Git version control

Preferred Qualifications :

- Experience working with Jetson GPU acceleration

- Experience with YOLO-based detection models

- Experience with visual SLAM or VIO systems

- Experience integrating LiDAR for navigation

- Experience with swarm drones

Education :

- B.Tech / M.Tech in Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Electronics, Computer Science, or Artificial Intelligence.

Experience :

- 1 to 4 years experience in drone autonomy, robotics, computer vision, or AI for embedded systems. Freshers with strong project experience in autonomous drones may also apply.

Bonus Skills (Highly Valued) :

- Visual SLAM

- AI model optimisation for edge devices

- Drone swarm algorithms

- Defence UAV experience

- RTK navigation systems

What the Candidate Will Work On :

- AI-powered surveillance drones

- Autonomous tracking drones

- Intelligent inspection UAVs

- Computer vision-based drone navigation

- Autonomous mission planning systems

Skills

Drone/UAV Systems, Drone/UAV Applications, Raspberry Pi, ROS, Computer Vision, OpenCV, Sensor, LIDAR, C++