Edge Navigation Team Leader

Location: Petah Tikva (IL)

Description

We are building a next-generation autonomous aerial platform, combining edge computing, real-time control, and advanced mission management across complex operational environments.

The Edge Navigation Team Leader will own the design and development of the platform’s navigation and state estimation systems—a core capability that determines how the drone understands its position, orientation, and movement in the world.

This role combines deep algorithmic expertise (GNC, perception, sensor fusion) with hands-on leadership, driving a team responsible for delivering robust, real-time navigation solutions in challenging and dynamic environments.

Why This Role is Unique

• Own one of the most critical subsystems in an autonomous platform
• Combine deep algorithmic work with real-world system delivery
• Influence how the platform perceives and understands the world
• Work on cutting-edge challenges in GNSS-denied navigation and multi-sensor fusion
• High impact, high ownership, and strong technical leadership

Who You Are

• A deeply technical leader who enjoys solving hard, real-world problems
• Passionate about robotics, autonomy, and how machines understand their environment
• Comfortable moving between theory, code, and field validation
• Pragmatic, hands-on, and driven to deliver robust systems—not just prototypes

Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Lead and grow a team of engineers focused on navigation, estimation, and perception algorithms
• Define the architecture of the navigation stack on the companion computer (edge)
• Own the full lifecycle: from research and prototyping to production-grade implementation

Navigation & Sensor Fusion

• Develop algorithms to evaluate reliability and select or fuse inputs dynamically
• Ensure robust and continuous state estimation (position, velocity, orientation) under varying conditions

Optical & Perception-Based Navigation

• Lead development of vision-based navigation capabilities
• Implement and optimize algorithms.
• Integrate perception outputs into the broader navigation and control pipeline

System Integration

• Work closely with control, autopilot (APS), and higher-level mission systems
• Ensure tight integration between navigation outputs and guidance/control loops
• Collaborate with simulation, QA, and infrastructure teams to validate performance

Robustness & Real-World Performance

• Design for real-time constraints, degraded environments, and sensor uncertainty
• Validate algorithms through simulation, field testing, and iterative improvement
• Drive performance optimization on embedded/edge hardware

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience in navigation, estimation, or GNC systems
• Strong background in sensor fusion and state estimation (e.g., Kalman Filters, EKF/UKF, factor graphs, or similar)
• Hands-on experience developing real-time systems in C++ and/or Python
• Proven experience with robotics or autonomous systems (UAVs, drones, robotics platforms)
• Solid understanding of IMU integration, coordinate frames, and motion models
• Experience leading technical teams and driving complex system design

Preferred Experience

• Experience with visual navigation / SLAM / visual-inertial odometry (VIO)
• Familiarity with ROS, DDS, MAVLink, or similar robotics middleware
• Experience integrating multiple heterogeneous sensors (radar, cameras, GNSS-denied systems, etc.)
• Background in deploying algorithms on embedded or resource-constrained systems
• Experience working with simulation environments for validation and testing