Senior Frontend Engineer (All Genders)

STARK; Berlin; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

STARK is seeking a Senior Software Engineer (Frontend Systems) to expand our mission management software. You will craft a robust, high-performance frontend architecture that balances rapid delivery with deep system understanding, navigating hardware constraints and challenging backend APIs to deliver clear operator UI.

You will work with AI-driven workflows, set architectural guardrails, and build deterministic interfaces for complex data streams in constrained environments, ensuring

Qualifications

• Experience integrating agent-based coding tools.
• Hardware realities: latency, data bursts, constrained compute and battery life.
• Decision-making: evaluate requirements from operator perspective.

Responsibilities

• System Thinking through the Frontend Lens: build high-frequency telemetry UI with optimized performance.
• Mission-Critical UI & UX: create deterministic, error-tolerant interfaces for operators under stress.
• Strategic Sparring: challenge APIs and data structures to preserve frontend performance.
• Mastering Agentic Workflows: architect guardrails and validate AI tool outputs.
• Engineer for extreme constraints: develop framework-less UIs using Vanilla TS/Web Components.
• Collaborative excellence: share knowledge and drive design discussions.

Skills

AI engineering

Constraint-driven

Mission oriented

Team player

Mobility

Tools

Web Components

Vanilla TS

Job description

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.

ABOUT THE Team

Minerva Frontline is STARK's command and control software — the brain that connects operators to autonomous systems across multiple domains in real time. The Frontline team is based across Europe & the UK, working with our hardware teams to build mission-critical C2 capabilities for use in active operational environments.

We move fast, ship real software, and operate under constraints most engineers never encounter — low-bandwidth networks, air-gapped devices, high-stakes decision loops. We are a tight-knit team of zero-ego, mission-driven developers. There is no room for abstraction for its own sake. Everything we build ends up in the hands of real operators in the field.

If you want to build software which will make a tangible difference to the security of Europe, we want to hear from you

YOUR MISSION

STARK is looking for a Senior Software Engineer (Frontend Systems) to expand our mission management software. We are not looking for someone who just works on Jira tickets. We need a frontend systems thinker who balances rapid delivery with the deep system understanding required to answer: 'What is the right solution for the overall system, and what is the frontend's role in it?'

You will build and evolve the frontend as a robust, high-performance architecture. You have the high-agency to navigate the physical constraints of our hardware, challenge the backend with hard questions, and translate complex data streams into a clear, calm UI for operators under extreme cognitive load. While you actively provide impulses for our overall system evolution, your core focus remains hands-on engineering.

We consistently rely on agentic AI workflows. While these agents accelerate development, they also introduce entirely new classes of technical challenges. Your role is to set strict architectural guardrails, rigorously orchestrate these agents, and collaborate with the team to solve the novel integration and quality problems that arise in this new engineering paradigm.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• System Thinking through the Frontend Lens: You don't need to write path-planning algorithms, but you must understand how they constrain the UI. You engineer highly optimized frontend solutions that handle high-frequency telemetry and asynchronous data streams while strictly minimizing computational load to preserve critical battery life on field devices.
• Mission-Critical UI & UX: You translate complex data into immediate situational awareness. You understand UX as cognitive load management for operators under stress. You implement interfaces that are deterministic, error-tolerant, and relentlessly focused on providing clarity out of chaos.
• Strategic Sparring Partner: You align rapid delivery with long-term system health. Instead of just accepting what the backend provides, you proactively challenge APIs and data structures if they threaten frontend performance or the operator's experience.
• Mastering Agentic Workflows: You don't just prompt; you engineer alongside AI. You set strict architectural guardrails, rigorously validate outputs, and proactively solve the novel integration and quality challenges that arise in this new paradigm.
• Engineering for Extreme Constraints: Build high-performance, framework-less user interfaces (Vanilla TS, Web Components) that function flawlessly under extreme real-world conditions (low bandwidth, air-gapped networks).
• Collaborative Excellence: You are a team multiplier. You raise the level of the entire team by sharing knowledge, providing valuable impulses for our system design, and facilitating open, fact-based discussions with zero ego.

WHAT YOU BRING

Required

• AI-Engineering Competence: Practical experience integrating agent-based coding tools into your workflow. You understand how to structure architecture for AI, rigorously validate its output, and solve the novel integration challenges these tools create.
• Constraint-Driven Engineering: The ability to engineer solutions that anticipate and mitigate hardware realities—specifically managing latency, handling data bursts, and optimizing for constrained compute and battery life.
• Mission-Oriented Execution: You balance the drive for rapid delivery with a critical mindset. You proactively question requirements and always evaluate technical decisions from the operator's perspective on the ground.
• Strong Team Player & Zero-Ego: You have the maturity to moderate technical decisions, compromise, and always put the mission above your own ego.
• Mobility: Ability to travel as needed.

Nice to Have

• Practical experience building comprehensive design systems (ideally using native Web Components).
• Experience with real-time data streaming architectures (WebSockets, WebRTC) or handling high-frequency telemetry.
• Experience working with unmanned systems, ideally in command-and-control, mission management, or operator-facing software.

SECURITY CLEARANCE

Due to the nature of our work in the defence sector, candidates must be eligible to obtain and maintain the appropriate security clearance required for this position. Details will be provided during the recruitment process.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

We are an equal-opportunity employer committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, colour, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.