Prototype Engineer
Date: Oct 6, 2026
Location: Lexington, MA, US
Company: MIT Lincoln Laboratory
The Homeland Sensors and Analytics Group designs, builds, and fields solutions that significantly enhance the tactical decision-making process of analysts and operators who secure the homeland. This includes security for critical infrastructure, land and maritime borders, transportation systems, and soft targets / crowded places. It also includes support for law enforcement, special operations, and intelligence analysts who track and disrupt transnational criminal and terrorist organizations. To do this, the group works on a combination of novel sensing technologies and data analytics techniques to provide better threat awareness to decision makers. The group designs systems that collect and process a wide range of data types — including radar, visible imagery and video, non-visible imagery, text, time-series data, and 3D point clouds — often applying advanced machine learning methods to convert raw data into actionable insights. The group places an emphasis on taking technology from the concept phase through deployment and transition to achieve operational impact.
Job Description
Our prototyping team is seeking highly motivated engineers who are interested in solving challenging technical problems and helping to build advanced technologies for high impact missions with Department of Homeland Protection (DHS) and Department of War (DoW) mission sets. This position is to support the research, design, and prototype of autonomous systems ranging from concept development through operational deployment including modelling and simulation, system design and construction, guidance and planning, feedback control and state estimation, computer vision, machine learning/AI, and field/flight testing where applicable. The candidate will work in a team-oriented development environment working on fast-paced development goals. The candidate should be willing to work on-site in the office 3 or more days a week, due to the hardware-focused development, and occasionally in outdoor test environments. Additionally, the candidate should be willing to travel up to ~15% of the time to support field tests and visits to Government sponsor organizations.
Required
-
B.S. or B.A. degree in Engineering, Robotics, Physics, or a related field with dedicated coursework in robotics, control theory, and programming.
- Controls/robotics or autonomy-related background
- Prototyping experience
- Strong written and oral communication skills
- Excellent problem-solving skills and the ability to work in a dynamic, interdisciplinary team
Desired
- Familiarity with unmanned aerial systems (UAS) hardware and software (e.g. PX4, Ardupilot, Betaflight)
- Familiarity with UAS communication protocols
- Analytical and/or scientific programming proficiency (Python, C/C++ or similar)
- Test design, procedure development, and execution
- Basic understanding of state estimation concepts
- System-level design, system architecture, or trade studies
- Direct exposure to advanced controls topics (e.g. optimal control)
- Relevant work experience (including internships, co-ops) is highly desired.
- Low-level communication protocols (such as SPI, I2C, UART)
- UxS (unmanned systems, such as drones, rovers, etc.) development or testing
- Experience with GPS-denied navigation and modern state estimation techniques
- Low-level drivers and firmware design for use in microcontrollers (such as STM32, PIC16)
- Understanding of sensor fusion techniques (IMU, GPS, vision-based navigation)
- Experience integrating algorithms and software into field-tested robotic platforms
- Familiarity with Linux-based embedded systems and cross-compilation for edge hardware
- Experience with edge devices such as Nvidia Jetsons or Raspberry PIs
- Experience developing software with ROS/ROS2 in Linux environments
- Part 107 certification
- FAA Third Class Medical Certification
Recent Graduate Hiring Range: $100,200 - $120,000
Experienced Hiring Range: $100,200 - $150,000
Disclaimer: MIT Lincoln Laboratory provides a typical hiring range as a good faith estimate of what we reasonably expect to offer for this position at the time of posting. The final salary offered to a selected candidate will depend on various factors, including—but not limited to—the scope and responsibilities of the role, the candidate’s experience, skills and education/training, internal equity considerations and applicable legal requirements. This range reflects base salary only and does not include additional forms of compensation or benefits.
At MIT Lincoln Laboratory, our exceptional career opportunities include many outstanding benefits to help you stay healthy, feel supported, and enjoy a fulfilling work-life balance. Benefits offered to employees include:
- Comprehensive health, dental, and vision plans
- MIT-funded pension
- Matching 401K
- Paid leave (including vacation, sick, parental, military, etc.)
- Tuition reimbursement and continuing education programs
- Mentorship programs
- A range of work-life balance options
- ... and much more!
Please visit our Benefits page for more information. As an employee of MIT, you can also take advantage of other voluntary benefits, discounts and perks.
Selected candidate will be subject to a pre-employment background investigation and must be able to obtain and maintain a Secret level DoD security clearance.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, veteran status, disability status, or genetic information; U.S. citizenship is required.
Requisition ID: 43448
Nearest Major Market: Boston
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