Software Engineer, Autonomy

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and the most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming, as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results.

The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars, and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic.

About the Role

We're looking for a Software Engineer, Autonomy with software development experience in mobile robotics. As a robotics software engineer, you will be responsible for building the core perception, planning, and control systems running onboard each member of the largest drone swarm in the world. Candidates with backgrounds in perception systems and multi-target tracking will find immediate opportunities to deploy their algorithms to real world environments.

What You'll Do

• Develop swarming autonomy algorithms to safely perform a variety of missions across both small and large UxS.

• Build and maintain track correlation and multi-target tracking systems that will immediately get real world use..

• Define the inter-robot and C2 communication protocols required to enable tactical swarm decision making on the edge.

• Build the core on-vehicle software platform to allow integration of a variety of first and third-party sensors, payloads, and software modules.

• Create and validate physically realistic simulations of UxS.

• Train, tune, and test automatic target recognition and track management systems using the latest advancements in neural networks.

• Perform electronics prototyping including troubleshooting complex mixed hardware-software systems.

• Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code.

• Travel up to 25% of the time for onsite test and integration events.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field.

• 3+ years building soft-real-time embedded systems.

• Deep expertise in at least one systems language (Golang, Rust, or C/C++).

• Proven experience deploying and validating robotics algorithms (Dubins planning, SLAM, Kalman filters, particle filters, A*, behavior trees, reinforcement learning, etc.).

• Working knowledge of embedded systems (SPI/I2C/serial protocols, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, microcontroller programming).

• Strong networking fundamentals (NAT, mDNS, UDP/TCP, multicast, firewall configuration).

• Excellent software engineering practices with emphasis on testable, reliable code.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with perception systems, sensor fusion, or multi-target tracking (Kalman-based trackers, JPDA, MHT, or similar).

• Contributions to deployed robotics or IoT systems requiring complex edge processing (aerospace, autonomous vehicles, etc.).

• Experience with robotics middleware (DDS/ROS2, ZeroMQ, gRPC) and serialization formats (Protobuf).

• Familiarity with government UxS interoperability standards (OMS/UCI, STANAG 4586, FACE).

• Hands-on electronics skills (breadboarding, soldering, schematic interpretation, datasheet analysis).

• Deep learning experience.

What We Offer

• Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience

• Medical, dental, vision, and 401k

• PTO and paid sick leave

• Monthly wellness stipend

• Daily catered lunch (office)

• Paid parental leave

• Direct impact on a critical national security mission

• A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems