Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Systems

About this role

About the RoleJoin a customer-facing product engineering team building cloud and edge software for autonomous systems used in operational and tactical missions. You will help connect sensors, vehicles, and intelligent decision-making systems so teams can coordinate robotic platforms in complex, high-stakes environments. What You'll DoDesign, implement, and optimize mission-critical software for autonomous systems.

Build backend services and real-time messaging that connect external services, sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms.

Develop systems that process data from multiple sensor types for real-time state estimation and threat detection.

Integrate LLMs and AI-driven agents into workflows that assess threats and support rapid response decisions.

Engineer scalable, reliable, fail-safe software for demanding operational environments.

Work with robotics, hardware, sensing, AI, and systems engineering teams to prototype, integrate, and deliver solutions.

What We're Looking ForFour to ten years of backend or service-layer software engineering experience, with recent hands-on work as an individual contributor.

Experience building and owning backend services such as microservices, APIs, or middleware, and real-time data exchange between live external systems.

Professional proficiency in Rust, Python, C++, or Java, and a degree in computer science or a related technical field.

Experience in autonomy, robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles, or factory automation, with engineering work beyond algorithms, simulation, or ML research alone.

Experience shipping software in a fast-paced, prototype-to-field environment; familiarity with LLM systems, AI agents, or tool chains is beneficial.

US work authorization without sponsorship and eligibility to obtain a security clearance.

Compensation & BenefitsBase salary: $145,000 to $275,000 annually. Visa sponsorship is not available. LocationHybrid role based in Palo Alto, California.