Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration – Weapons (R5400)

What You'll Do

• Lead Technical Delivery – Lead the technical execution of major autonomy capabilities; drive technical direction, coordinate cross-functional execution, mentor engineers, and help deliver complex integration efforts.
• Develop & Field Autonomy – Develop and integrate autonomy software solutions onto launched effects platforms, including autopilot integration, payload systems, executive autonomy, multi-agent coordination, and fleet-scale deployment to disconnected or air-gapped environments.
• Collaboration Across Teams & Partners – Serve as a primary technical interface with the Autonomy Capabilities team, Perception team, feature crews, autopilot vendors, C2 providers, and customer/contractor partners; influence interface definitions and coordinate integration across organizations.
• Design & Documentation – Lead design reviews, contribute to architecture decisions and ICDs, improve engineering rigor, and establish repeatable integration practices across multiple efforts.
• Pre-deployment Preparation – Drive mission readiness for Capability Releases and fleet-scale deployments by coordinating validation, release planning, hardware/software compatibility, and operational readiness.
• On-site Test & Mission Support – Provide technical leadership during flight tests, customer demonstrations, range exercises, and operational deployments while troubleshooting complex issues under time-critical constraints.
• Hardware/Software Debugging – Lead root-cause analysis across autonomy software, payload computers, embedded systems, networking, and platform interfaces using simulation, lab testing, and field data.
• Mission Data & Debrief Support – Analyze mission data, reproduce issues, coordinate corrective actions across engineering teams, and drive continuous improvements into future releases.
• Continuous Improvement – Build tools, automation, and engineering processes that improve deployment velocity, mission reliability, developer productivity, and integration efficiency.
• C2 Interoperability & Standards – Drive implementation of command-and-control interfaces and support compliance with open-systems standards while coordinating closely with external integration partners.

Required Qualifications

• BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent practical experience.
• Typically requires 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Expert C++ and Linux development experience.
• Experience leading complex autonomy or embedded software integration efforts.
• Experience influencing technical direction across multiple engineering teams.
• Experience supporting operational test events or customer deployments.
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with launched effects or distributed autonomous systems.
• Experience integrating PX4, ArduPilot, or custom autopilot solutions.
• Experience with fleet-scale autonomous operations.
• Experience with disconnected or air-gapped deployments.
• Experience mentoring engineers and leading technical initiatives.
• Experience with UCI, OMS, MOSA, WOSA, or TAK/CoT.