Simulation Engineer - Vatn Systems

Vatn Systems is an innovative company at the forefront of developing cutting-edge autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) for various applications, including defense, ocean exploration, environmental monitoring, and more. We are a dynamic and fast-paced startup driven by a passion for national security.

Position Overview

The Simulation Engineer will be responsible for creating and maintaining simulation models of our AUVs and their subsystems, including dynamics, control, sensor systems, and environmental interactions. You will collaborate closely with the engineering team to develop, test, and validate AUV software in a simulated environment, reducing the need for physical trials and accelerating the development process.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop high-fidelity simulation models for autonomous underwater vehicles, accounting for hydrodynamics, vehicle behavior, and environmental factors (e.g., ocean currents, temperature, pressure).
• Create and maintain simulation environments for testing AUV software, including navigation algorithms, sensor fusion, and control systems.
• Conduct system performance evaluations and optimization of AUV components through simulation testing.
• Collaborate with software, hardware, and robotics engineers to integrate simulations with real-time control systems.
• Implement sensor models and synthetic data generation for testing AUV perception and decision-making algorithms (e.g., sonar, LIDAR, cameras).
• Validate simulation results against real-world data collected from AUV operations.
• Support the deployment of simulations in CI/CD pipelines to enable rapid development and testing cycles.
• Troubleshoot and resolve simulation model issues, ensuring high accuracy and performance.
• Document simulation models, methodologies, and results for internal use and external stakeholders.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, Robotics, Computer Science, or a related field.
• Strong expertise in simulation tools such as Gazebo, ROS, or similar.
• Solid understanding of physical modeling, hydrodynamics, control systems, and vehicle dynamics.
• Experience with programming languages such as Python, C++, etc.
• Familiarity with sensor modeling (sonar, LIDAR, IMUs) and sensor fusion techniques.
• Experience with autonomous vehicle navigation algorithms (e.g., SLAM, path planning).
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to work in a fast-paced, collaborative environment.

Preferred

• Prior experience working on underwater robotics, AUVs, or marine engineering projects.
• Experience with real-time systems and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation.
• Understanding of machine learning techniques and their applications in robotics.
• Familiarity with CI/CD tools and practices for simulation software development.
• Experience with version control tools like Git and simulation-based validation in agile development environments.

If you are a skilled simulation engineer with a passion for developing state-of-the-art simulations, please apply.

Vatn is an equal opportunity employer, and we welcome candidates from all backgrounds to apply. We look forward to reviewing your application and potentially having you join our team in shaping the future of autonomous underwater exploration.