Head of Autonomous Flight

We are looking for an outstanding Leader who will set up our Autonomous Flight Department to join our innovative team and thus shape the future of aerial e-mobility.

You will have the unique opportunity to work on our Autonomy System for the AIRLIFT One, essentially teaching our planes how to fly on their own.

Shape things from scratch, from concept definition and evaluation to hardware selection, integration. Coordination with the authorities regarding the legal and operative framework is a vital part of this role.

• You will design and develop state-of-the-art Deep-Learning-based computer vision, perception and decision-making algorithms that enable an autonomous aircraft to analyze, understand, and interact with its environment.
• Implement the above algorithms on high-performance on-board computer platforms within a scalable autonomy software architecture.
• Support the validation of the above algorithms using real-world and synthetic data from autonomous aircraft.

Tasks may include:

• Develop and evaluate the autonomy concept and manage the complete development life cycle from requirements definition to Qualification and Certification.
• Developing systems for probabilistic sensor fusion and data association using cameras, LIDAR, RADAR, IMU, GPS, …, etc.
• Writing multi-threaded and GPU applications, estimation & Localization applications and probabilistic factor graphs; applying Computer Vision techniques - Classical and Deep Learning.
• Review and selection of suitable sensors and integration into the autonomy sensor suite
• Setup and rollout of processes and tools for the department
• Integration of autonomy components into the avionics and flight control systems
• Over time build, train, develop a local time
• Coordinate with potential partners and authorities
• Actively help shape processes of the respective department
• Work on any ad hoc projects or tasks

Qualification:

• Expertise related to Deep Learning for computer vision, perception and decision-making
• M.Sc./PhD in Robotics, Computer Science, Aerospace Engineering or similar degree
• Extensive experience with autonomous systems, preferably aerial robotics
• Experience with environmental perception and self-localization algorithms
• Sound knowledge of current AI concepts and their capabilities
• Knowledge of sensor fusion techniques and demonstrable experience of their application
• Clear communicator and team player
• High level of self-reliance and an autonomous target-oriented work style is a must
• Target-oriented, driven work style with analytic problem-solving skills required
• Fluent English language skills are essential