UAV Autonomy & Simulation Validation Lead

Deploy360 is seeking a short-term contract UAV Autonomy & Simulation Validation Lead to support a controlled software and simulation-based validation project involving GPS-denied drone navigation technology.

This role is ideal for someone with hands-on experience in UAV autonomy, drone simulation, GPS-denied navigation, sensor fusion, VIO/SLAM, telemetry analysis, or software-based validation of autonomous systems.

This is not initially a flight-test role. The focus is controlled software review, simulation/synthetic scenario testing, technical discovery, and validation reporting.

Responsibilities
* Participate in technical discovery calls with university/inventor technical stakeholders.
* Review available drone software/code, documentation, test data, architecture, and simulation assets.
* Help define the controlled validation approach for GPS-denied navigation software.
* Recommend appropriate simulation or synthetic testing methods based on available software, data, and tools.
* Support testing of navigation logic, autonomy behavior, telemetry assumptions, sensor inputs, and integration constraints.
* Help define measurable test parameters such as drift, localization accuracy, latency, repeatability, robustness, failure modes, and GPS-denied performance assumptions.
* Work with Deploy360’s software/security team to align simulation findings with software evaluation and final reporting.
* Contribute to the test plan, methodology, findings, and final validation report.

Required Experience
* Hands-on experience with UAV/drone autonomy, navigation, control software, or robotics systems.
* Experience with simulation-based testing or synthetic data/scenario testing.
* Familiarity with GPS-denied navigation, visual-inertial odometry, SLAM, sensor fusion, EKF/estimation methods, or related autonomy techniques.
* Experience with one or more relevant tools or ecosystems such as ROS/ROS2, PX4, ArduPilot, Gazebo/Ignition, AirSim, MATLAB/Simulink, MAVLink, Python, or C++.
* Ability to evaluate software behavior under controlled conditions before field testing.
* Strong communication skills and ability to explain technical findings to both technical and non-technical stakeholders.

Preferred Experience
* Experience with VIO, IMU/camera data, flight logs, telemetry analysis, or autonomous swarm / multi-agent systems.
* Experience designing validation plans for autonomy software.
* Experience supporting technical due diligence, prototype evaluation, defense technology, SBIR/STTR, aerospace, robotics, or university research commercialization.
* Familiarity with DevSecOps, secure software development, SBOMs, software assurance, or cybersecurity is a plus.

Expected Deliverables
* Technical discovery notes and recommendations.
* Controlled validation approach.
* Simulation or synthetic test strategy.
* Input into test plan and methodology.
* Technical findings for final validation report.
* Recommendations for follow-on development, simulation, or field validation.

Engagement Details
Contract role
Estimated duration: 2–3 months.
Estimated effort: 80–160 hours, depending on final scope.
Remote-friendly, with availability for U.S. business-hour technical calls.
U.S.-based candidates preferred.
NDA required.
Compensation: $150–$225/hour depending on experience.
Interested candidates should send a resume or short capability summary, relevant UAV/simulation project examples, tools used, hourly rate, and availability.