Autonomous Simulation Software Engineer

Build the simulated worlds where autonomous UUVs learn fail improve and prove theyre ready for the real one.

Leidos is looking for an Autonomous Simulation Software Engineer to build the software and simulation infrastructure behind next-generation uncrewed underwater vehicles and maritime autonomous systems.

Autonomous systems operating underwater face a uniquely unforgiving environment: limited communications uncertain navigation imperfect sensors complex vehicle dynamics and missions where the software must make good decisions without waiting for help. We need simulation environments capable of reproducing those challenges with enough fidelity to develop integrate test and ultimately trust the autonomy that operates in them.

This is a hands-on software engineering role for someone who enjoys building simulators modeling complex systems and creating reusable simulation frameworks. Youll develop software that models vehicles sensors environments interfaces faults and behaviorsgiving engineers the ability to exercise mission software repeatedly before putting a vehicle in the water.

Youll directly support a growing programwhile also helping evolve and expand our MAGMA-based Simulation Framework creating simulation capabilities that can be reused across vehicles missions and programs.

We already have engineers who know autonomy and engineers who have built simulation capability out of necessity. Were looking for someone who brings simulation engineering as a disciplineand who wants to help us take that capability much further.

Why This Role Is Different

• Youll build simulations that engineers actually depend on not visualization demos.
• Youll model real systems and real failure modes including vehicles sensors environments interfaces and mission behaviors.
• Youll help increase simulation fidelity closing the gap between what happens in software and what happens when a vehicle enters the water.
• Youll shape a growing simulation framework not simply write scenarios against a finished product.
• Youll work directly with autonomy and vehicle engineers using simulation to find problems earlier and accelerate development.
• Youll have room to experiment developing new approaches for modeling simulation test and analysis that can grow beyond a single program.

If you enjoy building software that recreates complicated real-world systemsand seeing that software make an engineering team faster and a deployed system more reliablethis is the role.

Primary Responsibilities

• Build high-fidelity simulation software using modern C Java and Python on Linux-based systems to model autonomous vehicles sensors environments interfaces and mission behavior.
• Expand and evolve our MAGMA-based Simulation Framework developing reusable simulation components interfaces models tooling and architectural patterns that can support multiple vehicles and programs.
• Increase simulation fidelity by working with autonomy systems hardware and test engineers to identify the behaviors and interactions that matter most and represent them effectively in software.
• Model complex systems and behaviors translating vehicle characteristics sensor behavior environmental effects system interfaces and operational constraints into useful software models.
• Enable autonomy development and test creating simulation environments where mission software can be exercised repeatedly across nominal edge-case degraded and failure scenarios before deployment to real hardware.
• Architect scalable simulation infrastructure emphasizing modularity extensibility deterministic behavior where appropriate performance and reuse across different platforms and levels of simulation fidelity.
• Connect simulation to production software integrating simulated components with real autonomy and mission software through representative interfaces and protocols.
• Build tools that accelerate engineering including scenario generation instrumentation data collection playback debugging visualization and automated simulation execution.
• Validate simulation against reality using test data system behavior and engineering analysis to understand where models are representativeand where they are not.
• Ship real capabilities developing integrating testing and maintaining production-quality simulation software with ownership from architecture through implementation and use.
• Collaborate across disciplines contributing to technical debates design reviews and trade studies involving autonomy systems engineering vehicle software hardware modeling and test.
• Continuously improve how we simulate and test helping establish simulation engineering practices that increase development velocity without sacrificing technical rigor.

Basic Qualifications

• Education & Experience Bachelors degree in Computer Science Software Engineering Robotics Engineering or a related field with 812 years of experience or a Masters degree with 610 years of experience.
• Security Eligibility Must have a current active Secret clearance.
• Serious C Skills Demonstrated experience developing modern C software on Linux with strong fundamentals in software architecture performance memory management debugging and code quality.
• Simulation Software Experience Experience developing software used to simulate model emulate or test complex physical or cyber-physical systems.
• Systems Thinking Ability to understand how software components interact with sensors hardware networks physical systems and their operating environmentand translate those interactions into useful simulation abstractions.
• Engineering Judgment Ability to choose the right level of fidelity for the engineering problem rather than simply maximizing model complexity.
• Software Architecture Experience designing modular extensible software systems with well-defined interfaces that can evolve as requirements and modeled systems change.
• Modern Development Environments Experience developing and deploying software in Linux and virtualized or containerized environments such as VMware or Docker.
• Test & Analysis Mindset Ability to design simulations and tests that expose meaningful system behavior investigate unexpected results and distinguish software defects from modeling limitations.
• Clear Communication Ability to explain complex technical ideas and modeling assumptions to software systems hardware test and program stakeholders.
• Professional Integrity Ownership accountability intellectual curiosity and respect for teammates and mission outcomes.

Preferred Qualifications

• Robotics & Autonomy Hands-on experience with autonomous systems robotics decision-making planning navigation controls or mission-management software.
• Vehicle Simulation Experience modeling robotic vehicles dynamics sensors actuators navigation systems communications or environmental interactions.
• SIL/HIL Experience Experience developing or integrating Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) or other simulation and test environments.
• Simulation Architecture Experience developing reusable simulation frameworks rather than only creating individual models or scenarios.
• Model Validation Experience comparing simulated behavior against real-world data and identifying appropriate fidelity assumptions uncertainty and limitations.
• Scenario & Monte Carlo Testing Experience creating automated scenarios parameter sweeps Monte Carlo analysis fault injection or large-scale simulation campaigns.
• Distributed Simulation Experience with simulation systems composed of multiple processes nodes services or federated components operating through realistic interfaces.
• Polyglot Engineering Experience across multiple languages such as C# Java Python or Rust and comfort adapting to new stacks quickly.
• Embedded or Low-Level Experience Exposure to embedded systems resource-constrained environments real-time systems or software interacting directly with vehicle hardware.
• Legacy-to-Modern Skill Experience diagnosing refactoring and improving large or aging codebases while preserving working capabilities.
• Maritime or Undersea Experience Background with autonomous remotely operated or mission-critical platforms particularly UUVs AUVs ROVs or other maritime systems.
• Systems Engineering Familiarity Familiarity with MBSE concepts and tools such as Cameo or MagicDraw and the relationship between system models software architecture simulation verification and validation.
• Toolchain Familiarity Experience with ROS Protocol Buffers SCons VS Code CI/CD systems and cross-platform build environments is a strong plus.

SUBSEAMSS

If youre looking for comfort keep scrolling. At Leidos we outthink outbuild and outpace the status quo because the mission demands it. Were not hiring followers. Were recruiting the ones who disrupt provoke and refuse to fail. Step 10 is ancient history. Were already at step 30 and moving faster than anyone else dares.

The Leidos pay range for this job level is a general guideline onlyand not a guarantee of compensation or salary. Additional factors considered in extending an offer include (but are not limited to) responsibilities of the job education experience knowledge skills and abilities as well as internal equity alignment with market data applicable bargaining agreement (if any) or other law.