Autonomy Software Engineer

Date Posted : 2026-01-07

Country :

United States of America

Location :

HIA32 : Cedar Rapids, IA 400 Collins Rd NE , Cedar Rapids, IA, 52498-0505 USA

Position Role Type : Onsite

U.S. Citizen, U.S. Person, or Immigration Status Requirements :

The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued security clearance is required.​ U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance

Security Clearance :

DoD Clearance : Secret

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio, and expertise to solve customers’ toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market.

The Collaborative Mission Autonomy (CMA) department within Collins Mission Systems is seeking a dynamic Software Engineer to support our Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Guidance Navigation Control (GNC) and CMA business area. The successful candidate will have a passion for innovation and the drive to develop and mature mission-enabling autonomy capabilities for UAS.

In this role you will be responsible for development, integration, and testing of the CMA software and associated hierarchical mission autonomy functionality for coordinated teams of UAS platforms. You will be part of a distributed team composed of professionals from several disciplines (software, systems, hardware, autonomy algorithms, flight controls, etc.).

This position will work onsite located at one of our following locations : Ft Wayne, IN, McKinney, TX, Cedar Rapids, IA or El Segundo, CA.

What You Will do :

Deployment and test of software builds to the real system hardware (embedded Linux systems)

Initial integration of hardware and software elements, including troubleshooting networking and system configuration, including various IP-stack protocols, serial communications, RF communications, GPS, Linux, network router and switch management

Systems Integration and debugging experience (bash scripting, Python scripting, debugging, using oscilloscopes / volt meters / etc., and so forth)

Integration lab management and network architecture

Support on-site integration at customer and 3rd party facilities

This position may require occasional travel (up to 10%).

Qualifications You Must Have

Typically requires a degree in Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM) and minimum 2 years prior relevant experience or an Advanced Degree in a related field

The ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government issued security clearance is required. U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are eligible for a security clearance.

Experience with one or more build tools / IDEs (e.g. CMake, make, Visual Studio, VS Code, etc.)

Experience using development workflow tools such as JIRA, Git, Subversion, Docker, and requirements management applications.

Object Oriented programing languages with C++ or Java.

Qualifications We Prefer

Familiarity with DevSecOps tools and techniques, server management is a plus

Experience with containers, virtualization, simulation

HMI / GUI development

Understanding of DoD open systems architecture and protocols (FACE, JCA, HOST, OMS, SOSA)

Background in the following technologies is helpful but not required :

UAS Command and Control Systems

Autonomy Algorithms

Detect and Avoid

Guidance and Navigation

Flight Management Systems

Sensor Fusion / Sensor Systems

Weapons Systems

Human / machine interface

Information Assurance

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio, and expertise to solve customers’ toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market.

Do you want to be a part of something bigger? A team whose impact stretches across the world, and even beyond? At Collins Aerospace, our Mission Systems team helps civilian, military and government customers complete their most complex missions — whatever and wherever they may be. Our customers depend on us for intelligent and secure communications, missionized systems for specialized aircraft and spacecraft and collaborative space solutions. By joining our team, you’ll have your own critical part to play in ensuring our customer succeeds today while anticipating their needs for tomorrow. Are you up for the challenge? Join our mission today

What We Offer :

Some of our competitive benefits package includes :

Medical, dental, and vision insurance

Three weeks of vacation for newly hired employees

Generous 401(k) plan that includes employer matching funds and separate employer retirement contribution, including a Lifetime Income Strategy option

Tuition reimbursement program

Student Loan Repayment Program

Life insurance and disability coverage

Optional coverages you can buy pet insurance, home and auto insurance, additional life and accident insurance, critical illness insurance, group legal, ID theft protection

Birth, adoption, parental leave benefits

Ovia Health, fertility, and family planning

Adoption Assistance

Autism Benefit

Employee Assistance Plan, including up to 10 free counseling sessions

Healthy You Incentives, wellness rewards program

Doctor on Demand, virtual doctor visits

Bright Horizons, child and elder care services

Teladoc Medical Experts, second opinion program

Eligible for relocation assistance

And more!

Eligible for relocation

• Please ensure the role type (defined below) is appropriate for your needs before applying to this role.

Onsite : Employees who are working in Onsite roles will work primarily onsite. This includes all production and maintenance employees, as they are essential to the development of our products.

At Collins, the paths we pave together lead to limitless possibility. And the bonds we form – with our customers and with each other propel us all higher, again and again.

The salary range for this role is 68,900 USD - 131,100 USD. The salary range provided is a good faith estimate representative of all experience levels. RTX considers several factors when extending an offer, including but not limited to, the role, function and associated responsibilities, a candidate’s work experience, location, education / training, and key skills.Hired applicants may be eligible for benefits, including but not limited to, medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, 401(k) match, flexible spending accounts, flexible work schedules, employee assistance program, Employee Scholar Program, parental leave, paid time off, and holidays. Specific benefits are dependent upon the specific business unit as well as whether or not the position is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement.Hired applicants may be eligible for annual short-term and / or long-term incentive compensation programs depending on the level of the position and whether or not it is covered by a collective-bargaining agreement. Payments under these annual programs are not guaranteed and are dependent upon a variety of factors including, but not limited to, individual performance, business unit performance, and / or the company’s performance.This role is a U.S.-based role. If the successful candidate resides in a U.S. territory, the appropriate pay structure and benefits will apply.RTX anticipates the application window closing approximately 40 days from the date the notice was posted. However, factors such as candidate flow and business necessity may require RTX to shorten or extend the application window.