Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Systems

About this role

About the RoleJoin a customer-facing product engineering team building cloud and edge software for command and control of autonomous systems. You will help integrate sensors, unmanned platforms, and AI-driven decision support for high-stakes operational and tactical missions. What You'll DoDesign, build, and optimize backend and service-layer software for mission-critical autonomous systems.

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

Build LLM- and AI-driven capabilities that assess threats and support rapid operational decisions.

Integrate sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms through reliable services and messaging.

Engineer scalable, dependable, and fail-safe software for demanding environments.

Collaborate with robotics, hardware, sensing, AI, and systems engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions.

What We're Looking ForFour to ten years of hands-on backend or service-layer software engineering experience.

Experience building core backend services, APIs, or middleware, including real-time data exchange between external systems.

Professional experience in autonomy, such as autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics, or factory automation.

Proficiency in one or more of Rust, Python, C++, or Java, along with a degree in computer science or a related technical field.

Experience shipping software in a fast-paced, prototype-to-field environment; this is a hands-on individual contributor role outside of research-focused work.

Experience integrating LLM systems, AI agents, or toolchains is beneficial.

Must have existing U.S. work authorization, be eligible for security clearance, and not require visa sponsorship.

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