Software Engineer - Drone Stack (c++)

Applied Intuition Applied Intuition · Robotics · Fort Walton Beach, Washington D.C. · Government

Software Engineer role focused on integrating and deploying autonomy and vehicle intelligence systems for defense and commercial customers, particularly in robotics and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The role involves hardware-software integration, troubleshooting, and testing in various environments (SIL, HIL, live flight tests).

What you'd actually do

  1. Adapt and develop modular and agile autonomy capabilities across diverse defense problems
  2. Integrate and deploy autonomy solutions onto embedded Linux and other hardware platforms, including interfacing with sensors and collecting data
  3. Troubleshoot complex integration and software issues to ensure high reliability and performance
  4. Integrate autonomy software into hardware in collaboration with autonomy engineers that supports full integration with aircraft autopilots, datalinks, sensors, PNT/GPS/INS, ground control stations, etc.
  5. Support live flight test of autonomy software on group 1-5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

Skills

Required

  • BS or MS in Robotics, Computer Science or related engineering field
  • 3+ years of hands-on experience working with robotic systems (hardware, software, and integration)
  • Experience with software programming languages: C++ preferred
  • Experience integrating autonomy/robotics products with Pixhawk autopilots (ArduPilot and/or PX4)
  • Experience integrating with communication busses & protocols: UART/RS232/RS422/RS485, SPI/QSPI, I2C, Ethernet
  • Experience developing in Docker, containerized deployment environments, and using Linux-based operating systems (e.g., RHEL, Ubuntu)
  • Experience using git, Visual Studio Code, GitLab
  • Familiarity with real-time, edge computing, and safety-critical systems operating in software-in-the-loop (SIL), hardware-in-the-loop (HIL), test & operational environments
  • Excellent communication skills and customer-oriented project delivery mindset
  • Willingness to travel frequently for on-site integration and demonstrations (estimated 10–20%)

Nice to have

  • Experience in modern C++ (2011, 2017, or 2020 standards), Bash, and CMake
  • FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate
  • Experience with Agile development practices and CI/CD pipelines
  • Prior work with COTS hardware integration such as Nvidia Jetson and Raspberry Pi
  • Active U.S. SECRET clearance preferred

What the JD emphasized

  • Must be a U.S. Citizen
  • Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance