Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Systems (C2/Backend/Service)

Role details

ABOUT THE ROLE Join a customer-facing product engineering team building command-and-control and autonomy software for robotic and autonomous systems. You will develop cloud and edge services that connect sensors, platforms, and AI-enabled decision-making for operational missions. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Design, build, and optimize software for mission-critical autonomous systems. - Develop services that process data from diverse sensors for real-time state estimation and threat detection. - Build AI- and LLM-enabled systems that assess situations and support rapid operational decisions. - Integrate sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms, including systems operating individually or in groups. - Engineer reliable, scalable, and fail-safe software for high-stakes environments. - Work with robotics, hardware, sensing, and systems engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions. WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR - Four to ten years of backend or service-layer software engineering experience, with recent hands-on individual contributor work. - Experience building and owning backend services such as APIs, microservices, or middleware, and real-time data or messaging integrations across live services. - Proficiency in one or more of Rust, Python, C++, or Java, and a degree in computer science or a related technical field. - Practical experience in autonomy, robotics, drones, autonomous vehicles, or factory automation, beyond algorithm, simulation, or ML research alone. - Experience shipping software in a fast-paced, prototype-to-field environment. - Experience integrating LLM systems or AI agents and building toolchains is helpful. - US work authorization without sponsorship and eligibility to obtain a security clearance are required. COMPENSATION & BENEFITS Base salary: $145,000 to $275,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is not available. LOCATION Hybrid in Palo Alto, California.