GNC/Autopilot Engineering Manager (All genders)

DUDE CHEM; Berlin; Hybrid; EUR 100.000 - 150.000; Vollzeit

Zusammenfassung

STARK in Berlin seeks a senior software engineering leader to own the flight control and navigation stack across autonomous platforms. You will build and grow a team responsible for guidance, state estimation, and real-time performance, ensuring end-to-end navigation reliability in contested environments.

You will drive technical roadmaps, apply best practices, mentor engineers, and collaborate with hardware and systems teams to deliver robust, production-ready robotics software.

Qualifikationen

• 7+ years of software (robotics) engineering experience in the domain of GNC (guidance, navigation, and control).
• 3+ years in a leadership role with direct people management experience.
• Proven track record deploying robotics software into production.
• Fluent English; German is a plus.

Aufgaben

• Lead and grow a fast-expanding team of engineers working on flight control, guidance, and state estimation.
• Facilitate and execute the technical direction for the STARK autopilot stack: control theory (PID/LQR/MPC), sensor fusion, state estimation (EKF/UKF), and real-time performance.
• Partner with hardware, perception, and systems engineering teams to ensure end-to-end navigation performance.
• Own technical roadmap planning and present it to the Director and cross-functional stakeholders.
• Bring software engineering best practices (C4, clean code, design patterns) to the team.
• Moderate peer reviews and promote knowledge sharing across seniorities.
• Drive hiring, mentoring, and career development for the team.
• Report on technical risk, schedule, and capacity to leadership.
• Drive test and validation strategy from simulation to live trials.

Kenntnisse

GNC domain knowledge

Robotics software engineering

Team leadership

English proficiency

Ausbildung

Bachelor's degree or higher in CS/Engineering

Tools

PX4

ArduPilot

Jobbeschreibung

About Us

STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionising the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop, and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost-effective — providing operators with a decisive edge in contested environments.

We are focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems — not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe, today.

Your mission

You will own the flight control and navigation stack that keeps our autonomous platforms stable, predictable, and precise — from first power-on to final approach (GNC = Guidance, Navigation, Control) . This isn't a maintenance role: you're building the control and state-estimation foundation that every other system on the platform depends on, while growing a team of engineers who can own that responsibility with you. Success looks like a navigation and control stack that performs reliably under the demanding, contested conditions our systems are built for.

Responsibilities

• Lead and grow a fast-expanding team of engineers working on flight control, guidance, and state estimation

• Facilitate and execute the technical direction for the STARK autopilot stack: control theory (PID/LQR/MPC), sensor fusion architecture, state estimation (EKF/UKF), and real-time performance

• Partner with hardware, perception, and systems engineering teams to ensure navigation performance holds end-to-end, not just in isolation

• Own technical roadmap planning for your domain and represent it to your Director and cross-functional stakeholders

• Bring software engineering best practices to the team such as the C4 architecture model, clean code principles and software design patterns

• Moderate the peer review process with the team and ensure knowledge sharing and across different seniorities

• Drive hiring, mentoring, and career development for your team as well as ways of working together

• Report on technical risk, schedule, and capacity to leadership

• Drive test and validation strategy, from simulation and HIL testing through live trials

Qualifications

• 7+ years of software (robotics) engineering experience in the domain of GNC (guidance, navigation, and control)

• 3+ years in a leadership role (Team Lead, Head of, Engineering Manager, or equivalent) with direct people management experience

• Provent track record of deploying robotics software application into production environment

• Strong knowledge about the GNC domain

• Fluent English; German is a plus

Nice to have

• Proven track record taking autonomous systems with GNSS-denied navigation system from design to production fielded, flight-tested products

• Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, or comparable open-source autopilot stacks

• Background in aerospace, robotics, or MINT programs

• Exposure to systems operating in contested or degraded environments

• Prior experience scaling a technical team in a startup or fast-growing engineering org

• Familiarity with MIL-STD or STANAG-aligned development practices

If you're interested in building the future of European defence with us and you see yourself reflected in the description above, we’re looking forward to meeting you.