Principal Research Scientist - Autonomy

Date Posted:

2026-01-19

Country:

United States of America

Location:

US-CT-EAST HARTFORD-RTRC A ~ 411 Silver Ln ~ RTRC A

Position Role Type:

Hybrid

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

U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are authorized to access information under this program/contract.

Security Clearance Type:

None/Not Required

Security Clearance Status:

Not Required

RTX Corporation is an Aerospace and Defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. It comprises three industry-leading businesses – Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. Its 185,000 employees enable the company to operate at the edge of known science as they imagine and deliver solutions that push the boundaries in quantum physics, electric propulsion, directed energy, hypersonics, avionics and cybersecurity. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Arlington, VA.

The following position is to join our RTX Corporate, Enterprise Services, Research Center or BBN team:

RTX Technology Research Center (RTRC) has a newly created position of Research Scientist in Autonomous Collaborative Systems (ACS). In this role, you will join the ACS team under the Artificial Intelligence (AI) discipline at RTRC. The team is engaged in a wide variety of research areas including computer vision, decision making, trustworthy and explainable AI and human-machine symbiosis for a variety of high impact real world problems in the aerospace, manufacturing, and defense industries. Examples of relevant problems include multi-agent coordination, self-functioning systems of systems, cybersecurity, automated visual inspection of parts, and robotic perception and manipulation.

The ideal candidate will possess a strong foundation in AI and Autonomy, demonstrated by a track record of innovation through patents, contributions to research, and/or publications in prestigious venues. Relevant conferences include NeurIPS (Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems), CVPR (Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Conference), ICRA (International Conference on Robotics and Automation), IROS (International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems), RSS (Robotics: Science and Systems), and AAAI (Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence), among other leading research forums.

What You Will Do:   

• We are looking for a candidate who is eager to apply and extend state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence approaches to a variety of application areas. Someone who is especially motivated to work towards enabling autonomous capabilities including sensing & perception, task & motion planning, reasoning & decision making, human-autonomy teaming, and robot learning.

• Designing and developing algorithms for perception, decision-making, human-machine collaboration, networked and teamed systems, and next generation autonomous platforms.

• Prototyping and simulating autonomous systems by writing code, developing software (simulation and visualization), creating algorithms, interfacing software/hardware, and supporting real-time demonstrations of autonomy in live, virtual, and simulation test environments.

• Leading and supporting externally and internally sponsored programs, writing external and internal research proposals.

• Building relationships to support partnership with leading, worldwide institutions (university, government agencies, national labs, and professional organizations) and meet organizational objectives.

• Disseminating research results through reports, conference proceedings, presentations, and technical papers for archival journals.

Qualifications You Must Have:

• Ph.D. in Robotics, Computational Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Electrical, or Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace, Mathematics, or a related field.

• 5+ years of hands-on experience in working with autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, deep/reinforcement/machine learning, robotics, dynamics and controls, flight test and evaluation, modeling & simulation, data science, and statistical analysis

• Experience applying AI based perception and/or Reinforcement Learning techniques to solve real world problems

• Broad awareness of advancements in intelligent autonomous systems

• Programming languages: Python, C++, ROS; cloud computing, and configuration management

• U.S. citizenship is required, as only U.S. citizens are authorized to access the financial management system due to government contractual requirements

Qualifications We Prefer:

• Experience using a modern software development environment including automated testing, continuous integration, and deployment, and "DevSecOps" environments

• Experience setting technical direction from initiation to execution of projects and managing technical deliverables for a small team

• Experience with PyTorch/TensorFlow, MATLAB, Julia, Java; Real-time control prototyping and Software/Hardware-in-the-Loop testing

• Strong analytical, problem-solving, written/verbal communication, and interpersonal skills with track record of teamwork, adaptability, innovation, and initiative.

• Clear and effective communication with all levels of management, business development, researchers, and customers.

• Ability to focus on results in a fast-paced, dynamic team environment.

• Ability to work independently with limited direction and in multidisciplinary environment.

What We Offer:

Whether you’re just starting out on your career journey or are an experienced professional, we offer a robust total rewards package with compensation; healthcare, wellness, retirement and work/life benefits; career development and recognition programs. Some of the benefits we offer include parental (including paternal) leave, flexible work schedules, achievement awards, educational assistance and child/adult backup care.

Location: Onsite in East Hartford, CT

As part of our commitment to maintaining a secure hiring process, candidates may be asked to attend select steps of the interview process in-person at one of our office locations, regardless of whether the role is designated as on-site, hybrid or remote.

The salary range for this role is 107,500 USD - 204,500 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.

RTX is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability or veteran status, or any other applicable state or federal protected class. RTX provides affirmative action in employment for qualified Individuals with a Disability and Protected Veterans in compliance with Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Vietnam Era Veterans’ Readjustment Assistance Act.

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