Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Systems

ABOUT THE ROLE Join a customer-facing product engineering team building command-and-control and autonomy software for robotic and unmanned systems. You will develop cloud and edge services that help users integrate sensors, autonomous platforms, and AI-driven decision-making in demanding operational environments. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Design, build, and optimize backend software for mission-critical autonomous systems. - Develop real-time services that process data from diverse sensors for state estimation and threat detection. - Build integrations with sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms, including individual systems and swarms. - Develop LLM- and AI-enabled workflows that assess conditions and support timely operational decisions. - Engineer scalable, reliable, and fail-safe systems for high-stakes environments. - Collaborate with robotics, hardware, sensing, AI, and systems engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - Four to ten years of hands-on backend or service-layer software engineering experience. - Experience owning backend services such as APIs, microservices, or middleware, and building real-time data and messaging integrations with external systems. - Proficiency in one or more of Rust, Python, C++, or Java. - A degree in computer science or a related technical field, such as robotics or electrical engineering. - Experience in autonomy, robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles, or industrial automation, with hands-on product engineering beyond research, algorithms, or simulation alone. - Experience shipping software in a rapid prototyping and field deployment environment. - Familiarity with LLM systems, AI agents, or tool chains is a plus. - U.S. work authorization without sponsorship and eligibility to obtain a security clearance. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS Base salary: $145,000 to $275,000 annually. Visa sponsorship is not available. LOCATION Hybrid role based in Palo Alto, California.