Aviation Military Analyst (Unmanned Aircraft Systems - Group 1-3)

Candidates must have an active Secret clearance and verify, before applying, that you meet the minimum requirements of the position.

JANUS Research Group is seeking two Aviation Military Analysts with expertise in small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), Group 1–3 UAS, autonomy, and emerging aviation technologies. These positions support Army Aviation and Department of Defense modernization initiatives through technical analysis, capability development, operational assessments, and stakeholder engagement focused on next-generation unmanned aircraft systems.

The selected candidates will serve as technical subject matter experts on autonomous and semi-autonomous UAS platforms, supporting the evaluation of emerging technologies, operational concepts, capability requirements, and future force initiatives. This role requires a blend of hands-on technical expertise, systems integration, program management, and effective communication with both technical teams and senior government stakeholders.

Essential Responsibilities

• Serve as a subject matter expert on Group 1–3 unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), autonomy, and emerging drone technologies.
• Design, build, configure, program, integrate, and troubleshoot small unmanned aircraft systems and associated subsystems.
• Support capability development, experimentation, operational assessments, and technology evaluations for Army and Department of Defense UAS initiatives.
• Program and configure autonomous and semi-autonomous flight control systems using industry-standard open-source flight controller software.
• Analyze UAS hardware and software architectures, power systems, communications, payload integration, and system performance.
• Develop technical recommendations related to UAS design, autonomy, mission planning, and operational employment.
• Collaborate with engineers, software developers, operators, and government stakeholders to support technology development and fielding efforts.
• Develop and execute technical plans based on broad or evolving program requirements while maintaining stakeholder awareness of project status.
• Translate complex technical concepts into clear presentations, briefings, and written documentation appropriate for both technical and executive audiences.
• Support development of capability requirements using the DOTMLPF-P framework.
• Analyze technical data, performance metrics, and operational results to support informed program decisions.
• Participate in technical demonstrations, working groups, and customer engagements.
• Support organizational process improvements and technology transition activities.
• Travel up to 50% in support of customer meetings, testing, demonstrations, and operational events.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Aviation, Computer Science, Robotics, or a related technical field, or equivalent professional experience.
• Minimum 5 years of hands-on experience building, programming, configuring, flying, and troubleshooting First Person View (FPV) quadcopters or small unmanned aircraft systems.
• Experience programming and operating autonomous or semi-autonomous UAS using one or more of the following flight control systems:
  • Betaflight
  • iNAV
  • ArduPilot
  • PX4 or similar open-source flight controller software
• Experience using C and/or C++ within command-line interface (CLI) environments for flight controller programming and configuration.
• Strong understanding of:
  • UAS power systems
  • Aircraft design considerations
  • Component selection
  • Flight performance limitations
  • Operational risks and technical tradeoffs
• Experience working directly with multidisciplinary engineering and technical development teams.
• Military experience operating Group 3 or smaller tactical unmanned aircraft systems, or equivalent operational experience supporting:
  • Public safety/first responders
  • Commercial drone operations
  • Infrastructure inspections
  • Forestry
  • Commercial delivery
  • Other advanced sUAS applications
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex technical information to audiences ranging from engineers to senior executives.
• Experience independently planning and executing technical efforts with minimal supervision.
• Strong analytical skills with experience using technical data and performance metrics to support recommendations and decision-making.
• Excellent written and verbal commu