A
Archer
Lead Engineer (Advanced Behaviors & Algorithms, Special Programs)
2 months ago
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Important information
Contract type:
Permanent
Salary:
$138,200 – $190,100 / year
Location:
San Jose, CA, USA
Work mode:
Onsite
Published on:
12 August 2026
What they need
- Special Programs is Archer’s rapid-prototyping, cross-functional engineering team supporting advanced and defense-focused development efforts
- We operate as a small, empowered group capable of moving quickly across disciplines — from early technical assessment of new opportunities through hands-on design, analysis, and prototype development
- The Lead Special Programs Engineer – Advanced Behaviors & Algorithms brings deep expertise in advanced vehicle and mission behaviors as their organic core competency — designing and validating the tactics, decision logic, and mission-level behaviors that let prototype systems operate effectively in contested or dynamic environments
- Lead design and validation of advanced mission behaviors and tactics for prototype vehicles, including behavior architectures, decision logic, and scenario-based validation
- Support rapid prototyping efforts end-to-end, from concept behaviors and simulation through hardware-in-the-loop test and flight test support
- Own the advanced behaviors discipline within Special Programs — setting technical approach, standards, and validation methods used across the program’s behavior work
- Conduct technical feasibility assessments of new opportunities — evaluating whether emerging concepts, RFPs, or mission requirements are viable within your focus area and what approach they would require
- Serve as a cross-functional technical contributor across Special Programs efforts outside your core focus area when program needs require it
- Collaborate with program leads, other Special Programs engineers, and broader Archer engineering teams to align technical approaches with program timelines and constraints
- Produce technical documentation, trade studies, and analysis packages supporting both design maturity reviews and opportunity/capture decisions
- Represent Special Programs work in your focus area in internal reviews and, as needed, in discussions with government stakeholders
- This isn’t a seat on Archer’s core advanced behaviors team. Special Programs engineers are chosen for deep discipline expertise and the versatility to support wherever a program needs it — from early opportunity evaluation to hands-on prototype work across disciplines. You’ll have significant technical ownership and autonomy, working in a small team built to move fast on some of Archer’s most forward-looking defense efforts- Ability to obtain and maintain a U.S. government security clearance
- Demonstrated ability to work across the full development lifecycle — concept through prototype — in a fast-paced, resource-constrained environment
- Demonstrated experience developing or validating mission-level behaviors, tactics, or decision-making logic for autonomous or semi-autonomous aerospace/defense systems
- Ability to work independently with significant technical ownership and no direct-report support structure
- Experience or strong aptitude for evaluating technical feasibility of early-stage concepts, not just executing against defined requirements
- Familiarity with behavior modeling, simulation environments, and scenario-based test and validation approaches
- Bachelor’s degree in Aerospace, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related field (advanced degree a plus)
- Must be a U.S. Person (U.S. citizen, national, lawful permanent resident, asylee, or refugee), as defined by ITAR/EAR
- 8–12 years of relevant engineering experience (or equivalent demonstrated experience in rapid-prototyping / advanced-programs environments)
- Comfort operating as a generalist when needed — willingness and ability to contribute outside your core focus area in support of program needs
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