About this role
About Us:Havoc is a leader in all-domain collaborative autonomy. Its software-defined hardware approach powers military and commercial-grade autonomous systems across sea, air, and land to sense, decide, and act together in complex and contested environments. Havoc connects assets, enabling them to share information, adapt in real time, and continue operating even when communications are disrupted or denied. Havoc optimizes mission performance and minimizes human risk.
Havoc was founded in 2024 and headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island. Learn more at Havoc: All-Domain Collaborative Autonomy .
About the RoleAs the Director of Autonomy, you will lead the technical direction, execution, and growth within HavocAI’s autonomy organization. You will be responsible for building and scaling the systems that enable autonomous vehicles to perceive, plan, coordinate, and operate in complex maritime environments.
This is a senior technical leadership role for someone who has deep experience across robotics, perception, motion planning, controls, and fielded autonomous systems. You will lead teams of engineers from a technical perspective, set architecture and execution priorities, mentor senior engineers, and ensure that autonomy capabilities move quickly from concept to deployed mission capability.
This role requires both breadth and depth. You should be able to reason across perception, planning, control, vehicle behavior, multi-agent coordination, simulation, testing, and deployment. You will work closely with engineering, product, field operations, hardware, mission software, and customer-facing teams to deliver robust autonomy systems that operate reliably in the real world.
Key ResponsibilitiesAutonomy Technical LeadershipOwn the technical direction for HavocAI’s autonomy systems across perception, planning, controls, behaviors, and vehicle-level decision-making
Define autonomy architecture, interfaces, development standards, and integration strategies across multiple engineering teams
Lead technical tradeoffs across performance, safety, reliability, latency, compute constraints, scalability, and mission needs
Ensure autonomy capabilities are designed for real-world maritime operations, not just simulation or controlled environments
Drive technical alignment between autonomy, perception, mission software, embedded systems, hardware, and field operations
Robotics, Planning & Control SystemsGuide development of motion planning, path planning, behavior planning, control, and vehicle autonomy systems
Oversee autonomy capabilities for navigation, collision avoidance, target following, station keeping, formation behavior, and multi-vessel coordination
Ensure autonomy algorithms are robust to uncertain environments, degraded sensors, dynamic contacts, and complex maritime operating conditions
Partner with perception and sensor teams to ensure autonomy systems use perception outputs effectively and safely
Drive the maturation of autonomy from prototype capabilities into reliable, repeatable, fielded systems
Team Leadership & MentorshipLead and mentor a high-performing team of autonomy, robotics, perception, planning, and controls engineers
Provide technical guidance to engineering managers, tech leads, and senior individual contributors
Establish strong engineering practices around design reviews, architecture reviews, testing, simulation, integration, and field readiness
Help recruit, evaluate, and develop top technical talent across the autonomy organization
Create a culture of ownership, technical rigor, speed, and mission focus
Fielded Autonomy ExecutionDrive autonomy development from requirements through design, implementation, simulation, field test, deployment, and operational iteration
Ensure autonomy systems are testable, observable, debuggable, and measurable in real-world environments
Use field data, logs, test results, and operator feedback to identify gaps and improve system performance
Support customer demonstrations, operational evaluations, and field deployments as a senior technical leader
Build feedback loops between field failures, autonomy improvements, and product roadmap decisions
Cross-Functional StrategyPartner with product and company leadership to define autonomy strategy, technical roadmap, and capability priorities
Translate customer and mission needs into actionable autonomy requirements and engineering plans
Communicate technical risks, tradeoffs, and progress clearly to executive, engineering, customer, and program stakeholders
Collaborate with hardware, manufacturing, operations, and deployment teams to ensure autonomy capabilities are compatible with vessel platforms and field constraints
Help shape long-term autonomy investment across software, data, simulation, infrastructure, and platform capabilities
QualificationsBachelor’s degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related technical field
10+ years of experience in robotics, autonomy, autonomous vehicles, unmanned systems, maritime autonomy, aerospace, defense technology, or related fields
Extensive technical background across robotics, perception, motion planning, control systems, and autonomous system architecture
Proven experience leading teams of engineers from a technical perspective
Strong understanding of autonomy software stacks, including perception integration, planning, control, behaviors, simulation, testing, and deployment
Experience taking robotic or autonomous systems from prototype through fielded deployment
Strong systems engineering judgment and ability to make architecture-level decisions across complex autonomy systems
Experience working in Linux-based development environments with modern software engineering practices
Ability to mentor senior engineers, set technical direction, and raise the engineering bar across teams
Excellent communication skills with the ability to explain technical concepts, tradeoffs, and risks to both technical and non-technical stakeholders
High ownership, strong judgment, and comfort operating in fast-moving, ambiguous environments
Passion for mission-critical autonomy and real-world robotic systems
U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a security clearance
Preferred SkillsAdvanced degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, or a related technical field
Experience with autonomous surface vessels, maritime autonomy, naval systems, or maritime domain awareness
Experience leading autonomy teams in defense, aerospace, robotics, autonomous vehicles, or dual-use technology companies
Experience with multi-agent autonomy, collaborative autonomy, swarm robotics, or distributed robotic systems
Deep experience with motion planning, trajectory generation, behavior planning, collision avoidance, controls, or guidance systems
Experience with perception systems, sensor fusion, radar, EO/IR cameras, AIS, GPS/INS, or other maritime sensor modalities
Experience with simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, autonomy verification and validation, and field test programs
Familiarity with ROS2, DDS, MOOS-IvP, autonomy middleware, or distributed robotics architectures
Experience supporting government, DoD, or defense customer programs
Active or prior security clearance
LocationThis role may be based in the Greater Boston area with remote flexibility.
Benefits:100% Employer paid Health Insurance
Dental and Vision Insurance for you and your families
Life Insurance (Employer Paid)
Ability to participate in the companies 401k program (Matching)
Unlimited PTO policy with an enforced 2 week minimum
Equity Package
Work / Home Office Stipend
Global Entry
16 Week Paid Parental Leave
Monthly Health and Wellness Stipend
Our Values:Innovation: We are driven to break new ground. Every day presents an opportunity to challenge the status quo, think boldly, and deliver advanced solutions that transform the future of defense technology.
Integrity: We hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards, ensuring transparency, accountability, and trust in all our actions and partnerships.
Mission-Driven: We are focused on achieving impactful outcomes that align with our core mission—protecting lives through innovation.
Forward-Leaning: We continuously seek out new opportunities and remain at the forefront of technological advancements. We embrace change and anticipate the challenges of tomorrow with confidence and creativity.
Ownership of All Tasks: At HavocAI, no problem is too complex or too trivial. We believe that greatness comes from tackling the hardest challenges, but also in handling the smallest, sometimes thankless, tasks with the same level of commitment and care.
Servant Leadership: We lead by serving others, whether it’s supporting our employees, partners, or the broader community. Empowering those around us is key to achieving long-term success and making a lasting impact.
HavocAI is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is committed to creating an inclusive and diverse workplace. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds and do not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other legally protected status.