Autonomy Engineer

At REGENT, we’re on a mission to revolutionize regional transportation between coastal cities. We're not just building vehicles, we're creating a new category of transportation: the seaglider. These groundbreaking wing-in-ground-effect craft travel just above the water’s surface, combining the speed of an airplane with the low operating costs of a boat. Capable of 180 miles at 180 mph on today's battery tech (and up to 400 miles with next-gen batteries), seagliders will unlock fast, affordable, and sustainable coastal transit for passengers and cargo - connecting cities, islands, and communities like never before.

Backed by leading investors and powered by a team of passionate, forward-thinking engineers, builders, and operators, we’re now scaling from a breakthrough prototype to full production - and building the team to make it happen.

Role Overview

As an Autonomy Engineer, you’ll design and build cutting-edge autonomy systems that enable our innovative seagliders to navigate seamlessly through air and water. These vehicles operate across unique modes - hull-borne, hydrofoil-borne, and wing-borne - requiring novel control and autonomous capabilities that push the boundaries of mobility. You’ll rapidly prototype autonomy algorithms, conduct trade studies on planning and control strategies, and lead the hands-on integration of autonomy software directly into our vehicles.

In this role, you’ll be central to shaping the system architecture and developing the tools our engineering team needs to bring autonomous seagliders to life. Leveraging high-fidelity simulations and real-world trials, you’ll rigorously validate autonomy performance. Working across disciplines - vehicle controls, systems, hydrodynamics, perception, and software - you’ll apply robust safety standards throughout prototype development, testing, and certification, helping shape the future of amphibious mobility.

If you’re energized by working at the intersection of cutting-edge innovation, real-world impact, and hands-on engineering, you’ll be in the right place - and we’d be thrilled to have you on the team!

• Design Autonomous Intelligence That Adapts Across Air and Sea: Develop planning, decision-making, and control algorithms, conducting trade studies to identify the best strategies for safe and efficient transitions across hull-borne, hydrofoil, and wing-borne modes.
• Prototype and Iterate with Real-World Feedback: Rapidly prototype autonomy solutions and refine them through high-fidelity simulation, hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) environments, and live flight and sea trials.
• Architect for Reliability and Safety: Contribute to autonomy system architecture and interface definitions, ensuring the system meets safety-critical requirements through structured verification, validation, and design assurance practices (e.g., DO-178C).
• Bring Ideas to Life: Build tools and frameworks that empower cross-disciplinary teams to test, debug, and iterate on autonomous behaviors at full scale.
• Collaborate Across Disciplines: Work closely with vehicle controls, perception, systems, and hardware teams to integrate autonomy into the full vehicle stack - shaping everything from the control surface to the operator interface.
• Drive Real-World Autonomy Testing: Lead autonomy-focused integration campaigns and test events on sub-scale and full-scale vehicles, playing a key role in maturing the system toward certification and production.

• Deep passion for autonomy in complex, multi-domain environments, backed by 2+ years of hands-on experience developing and deploying autonomy, controls, or robotics systems in aerospace, maritime, or autonomous vehicle applications.
• Strong technical foundation and practical experience in aerospace engineering, computer science, robotics, or related fields
• Proficiency in C/C++ and Python for real-time and embedded systems
• Demonstrated ability to drive autonomy projects from concept through design, simulation, integration, testing, and deployment
• Strong background in motion planning, decision making, guidance, navigation, and control for autonomous vehicles
• Experience designing systems for multi-modal operation, including transitions between air and water environments
• Familiarity with safety-critical software development processes (e.g., DO-178C)

• Experience with autonomy and controls integration and test in maritime and/or aerospace environments
• Background in system verification, validation, and certification for safety-critical applications
• Experience with high-fidelity simulation environments and hardware-in-the-loop testing
• Familiarity with state estimation, sensor fusion, and robust control in uncertain environments
• Flight test or sea trials experience
• FAA pilot’s license, boating, or sailing experience

• Collaborative Team Player: You believe that great things happen when teams work together. You communicate effectively and collaborate with engineers, stakeholders, and other cross-functional teams to align on goals and move projects forward. You bring people together, ensuring that everyone is on the same page and moving towards a shared vision.
• Creative Problem Solver: You thrive on tackling complex challenges and finding innovative solutions. Whether it’s refining control algorithms, overcoming integration hurdles, or optimizing real-time decision-making, you approach every problem with creativity and persistence. You balance solving today’s technical needs while designing for future scalability and reliability in autonomous systems.
• Adaptable & Agile: In a dynamic, ever-evolving startup environment, you quickly adapt to changing priorities and requirements. You approach challenges with a calm, resilient mindset, and know how to pivot and adjust your approach as needed, ensuring that progress continues without missing a beat.
• Innovative Mindset: You’re driven by curiosity and a passion for technology. You’re passionate about driving continuous improvement, embracing new technologies and methodologies to enhance efficiency, quality, and team performance.

• Competitive compensation including a robust equity incentive plan.
• Comprehensive health, dental, and vision insurance - we cover 100% of your premiums.
• 401(k) with company matching, so you can plan for the future.
• Generous flexible time off, paid parental leave, and company-wide holiday breaks.
• Relocation packages available for those moving to join our team.
• Daily, free catered lunches
• Learning & professional development opportunities 

If you’re ready to take on an exciting challenge, grow with us, and make a lasting impact, we want to hear from you. Even if you don’t meet every requirement, but you see yourself contributing to our mission, we encourage you to apply! We value diverse skillsets and experiences and believe in the potential of passionate individuals to make a big impact.

Equal Opportunity Employer

REGENT is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law.