Senior Airborne LiDAR Systems Engineer
Woolpert
$101,000 - $151,800 / year
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Description
We seek to move the world forward through innovative thinking.
Woolpert is an award-winning, global leader in architecture, engineering, and geospatial services. We blend design excellence with cutting-edge technology to deliver exceptional client value. Our team is passionate about their work and committed to building the next generation of industry leaders, and as a certified Great Place to Work®, Woolpert embraces progress and innovation to create limitless opportunities for career growth.
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Position Overview
Woolpert is hiring a Senior LiDAR Systems Engineer to join our dynamic team at our Kiln, Mississippi office. This senior role will provide technical and project leadership for complex airborne, terrestrial, drone, and bathymetric LiDAR initiatives. The successful candidate will set technical direction, lead multidisciplinary teams, mentor engineers, and take accountability for project delivery, client relationships, quality, and innovation. Relocation packages are available for preferred candidates.
We are unable to provide visa sponsorship for this position. Applicants must already possess work authorization in the country the job is located.
What You Will Do:
- Provide technical and project leadership across multiple complex LiDAR programs, with accountability for scope, schedules, budgets, risks, quality, and deliverables.
- Set the technical vision and systems-engineering approach for airborne, drone, terrestrial, and bathymetric LiDAR solutions.
- Lead and align multidisciplinary teams of software, mechanical, electrical, optical, and geospatial professionals to deliver reliable system performance.
- Mentor engineers and technical staff, strengthen team capability, and promote a culture of collaboration, accountability, safety, and continuous improvement.
- Serve as a senior technical advisor to clients and internal stakeholders, translating business needs into practical system requirements and implementation strategies.
- Direct system architecture, design reviews, integration, testing, calibration, and operational readiness for advanced LiDAR platforms.
- Establish and oversee QA/QC standards for LiDAR data acquisition, processing, and system-performance validation.
- Lead technical contributions to proposals, scopes of work, cost estimates, technical documentation, and system specifications.
- Identify emerging technologies, evaluate investment opportunities, and champion innovations that improve system capability, efficiency, and market competitiveness.
- Support strategic planning, resource allocation, and cross-functional decision-making for the LiDAR practice.
What You Will Bring:
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Engineering, Physics, Geomatics, or a related field.
- Typically 10 or more years of progressive experience in LiDAR system development, LiDAR system components, systems engineering, or a closely related technical field.
- Demonstrated success leading complex technical programs and multidisciplinary engineering teams from concept through deployment and operational support.
- Proven ability to mentor technical professionals, influence cross-functional stakeholders, resolve high-impact issues, and drive accountability for results.
- Strong client-facing leadership skills, including the ability to communicate technical strategy, manage expectations, and build trusted relationships with senior stakeholders.
- Advanced experience with system-level architecture and integration, including optics, sensors, embedded systems, software, and platform interfaces.
- Strong command of LiDAR data processing, system calibration, performance validation, and QA/QC standards.
- Excellent executive-level communication, presentation, negotiation, and decision-making skills.
- PMP certification or equivalent leadership of complex projects and programs is preferred.
- Experience with airborne and bathymetric LiDAR systems.
- Familiarity with ASPRS standards and federal geospatial data requirements.
- Proficiency in tools such as Microsoft Project, Python, or C for system control and automation.
#LI-On Site
Benefits You Will Love
Certified as a Great Place to Work, Woolpert is one of the fastest-growing architecture, engineering, and geospatial companies in the world. With over 75 offices and countless projects around the globe, you’ll work on meaningful assignments that improve quality of life around the world. In addition to offering competitive pay, we provide employees with a robust set of unique benefits, including:
- Freedom to Work program: Set your own schedule and location (as appropriate).
- Principal program: Earn the opportunity to become an owner of the firm.
- Flexible paid time off/vacation: Take time off when it makes sense for you and your team.
- Career development: Explore a wide range of learning and growth opportunities within and across industries.
- Health, life, vision, and dental insurance: Cover all your medical bases.
- Paid sick time, retirement plan, fitness reimbursement, pet insurance, identity protection, technology stipend, employee assistance program, and more!
Base pay offered may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.
Find out more about what Woolpert has to offer here: http://woolpert.com/about-us/
Woolpert is an equal-opportunity employer. Woolpert is committed to the full inclusion of all individuals. We recruit, train, compensate, and promote regardless of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, veteran status, and other protected status as required by applicable law. You may view more about EEO on our website: Equal-Employment-Opportunity-The-Law.pdf and EEO is the Law Poster Supplement.
Applicants who require an accommodation throughout the application and interview process should request this in advance by contacting your Recruiter
To all agencies: Please, no phone calls or emails to any employee of Woolpert or any of our subsidiaries about this requisition. All resumes submitted by search firms/employment agencies to any employee at Woolpert via email, the internet, or in any form and/or method will be deemed the sole property of Woolpert, unless such search firms/employment agencies were engaged by Woolpert's Talent Acquisition Team for this requisition and a valid agreement is in place. In the event a candidate who was submitted outside of Woolpert's applicant process is hired, no fee or payment of any kind will be paid.
Benefits
- dental insurance
- 401(k)
- paid time off
- sick leave
About this role
Woolpert's Advanced Sensing team is looking for a Principal Embedded Systems & Sensor Software Engineer to lead the software architecture for next-generation airborne LiDAR and remote sensing platforms. You would own the full software lifecycle—from sensor control and data acquisition through field deployment, diagnostics, and customer support. This role bridges hardware, avionics, aircraft operations, and end-user applications, making you responsible for turning complex sensor technology into reliable, scalable systems that flight crews and field engineers can actually use.
Your core work spans embedded systems design (sensor control, timing, communications, health monitoring), integration with laser subsystems, GNSS/INS, cameras, and aircraft interfaces, and development of operator and maintenance tools that reduce training burden and downtime. You'll also lead system testing and validation across lab, hardware-in-loop, and flight environments, establish software standards for your team, and mentor other engineers. This is a visible technical leadership role that requires hands-on expertise in C++, Python, embedded Linux, RTOS, real-time data acquisition, and modern development practices.
You'll need at least seven years of professional software engineering experience, with a minimum of three years in embedded systems or hardware-integrated software, plus a bachelor's degree in computer engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, or a related field. The position is remote based in Kiln, Mississippi, requires existing US work authorization, and offers a salary range of $101,000–$151,800 along with flexible scheduling, ownership opportunities, and comprehensive benefits.
How this employer is doing
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Woolpert appoints David Martin as EVP, global operations, engineering.com
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Pay for this role
$101,000 to $151,800 per year
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