Simulation Engineer (AirSim/Unreal Engine, Maritime Autonomy)
Simulation Engineer (AirSim/Unreal) — High-Fidelity Maritime Autonomy | 12-Week PoC → Full-Time Path
Hertel Robotics is building next-generation autonomy for unmanned systems operating in the harshest environments. We are assembling an elite engineering team to deliver a 12-week PoC: UAV VTOL on a moving ship in aggressive open ocean conditions.
We are looking for a Simulation Engineer with high perception & navigation skills who can build a high-fidelity maritime environment in AirSim + Unreal Engine, integrate sensors, and support the autonomy stack during development and testing.
What You'll Build
* A realistic maritime digital twin (waves, sea state, wind, ship motion)
* AirSim-based multirotor dynamics + custom sensor models
* ROS2 integration for perception, state estimation, planning, and control testing
* Scripted edge-case scenarios for robustness testing
* → including complete outages & failsafes (GPS loss, comms loss, sensor blackout, emergency behavior)
* Synthetic datasets to accelerate perception & control development
* Performance profiling (latency, CPU/GPU load, sensor bandwidth optimization)
* The simulation environment that investors will evaluate in the PoC demo
Must-Have Skills
* Strong experience with Unreal Engine (ideally UE5)
* Hands-on experience with AirSim (C++/Python)
* Solid robotics background (UAV/UGV simulation, control, or SLAM basics)
* ROS/ROS2 experience (publishing sensors, integrating modules)
* Ability to model:
* Camera sensors (stereo/RGB/depth)
* IMU noise & drift
* GPS noise & latency
* Altimeter / range sensors
* Ability to script complex scenarios:
* Wind bursts
* Wave spikes
* Lighting changes
* Sensor dropouts
* Failsafe triggers (loss of GPS, sensor blackout, comms drop)
Bonus Skills
* Experience with maritime or aerial robotics
* PX4/ArduPilot SITL
* Synthetic data pipelines
* Unity3D / Isaac Sim
* Prior collaboration with autonomy or perception teams
Contract Details
* 12-week full-time contract (Jan–Mar 2026)
* Starting remote, then on-site (Portuguese citizens/residents preferred)
* Strong intention to transition into a full-time role immediately after PoC funding
* Competitive compensation
How to Apply
Send your CV + link to relevant simulation work (GitHub, portfolio, videos) directly via LinkedIn or email.