Autopilot Flight Control Engineer (UAVs)

Callen-Lenz; Salisbury; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

25 days annual leave per year (plus 1-

Buy/Sell holiday policy up to 5 days

Pension Scheme via Royal London

Company contributed Share Incentive PL

Green Car Scheme

Life assurance scheme (6x basic salary

Income protection policy (75% of basic

Private Health Insurance via Bupa

Private Dental insurance via Bupa

Enhanced Maternity and paternity

1 Professional membership reimbursed

1 paid volunteering day per year

Access to an independent financial adv

Training & development opportunities

Job summary

Callen-Lenz is seeking an Autopilot Software Engineer to work on cutting-edge UAV projects in the UK. You will develop ArduPilot-based flight control software, integrate sensors, and validate performance in SITL and real flights.

You will join the Autopilot team responsible for software requirements, design, implementation and testing, contributing to high-integrity aerospace software in a fast-paced R&D environment.

Qualifications

• Proven hands-on experience with Ardupilot, PX4, or similar open-source autopilot stacks.
• Strong knowledge of MAVLink, mission planning, and UAV communication protocols.
• Practical experience with UAV tuning, flight testing, and log analysis (Mission Planner, MAVProxy, etc.).
• Excellent working knowledge of C++
• Ability to work independently in a fast-paced R&D environment.
• Experience with CAN, SPI, I2C, UDP, TCP.
• Experience taking a design from software requirements definition through to completion.
• Familiarity with Linux environments and Ardupilot SITL.
• Exposure to Python, Lua, Rust.
• Knowledge of safety related engineering practices.
• Working in an Agile environment.
• Background of aeronautics and control systems.
• Familiarity with PID control loops.
• Experience with flight control systems.
• General interest in aviation.

Responsibilities

• Develop, configure, and test Ardupilot-based flight control systems for various UAV platforms.
• Test and optimise flight behaviours, parameters, and mission execution in SITL and real flight environments.
• Support sensor integration (GPS, cameras, LiDAR, etc.) and ensure robust flight performance.
• Contribute to documentation, simulation environments, and internal development standards.
• Assist in software high-level requirements capture and documentation.
• Support software architectural design.
• Contribution to innovation by assisting in research into and application of emergent technologies.
• Support the implementation of the Software Engineering Quality Practices.
• Participation in peer reviews.
• Perform other related duties as required.

Skills

ArduPilot

PX4

MAVLink

C++

Flight testing

CAN

SPI

I2C

UDP

TCP

Software requirements

Software architecture

Teamwork

Education

BSc or MSc in Engineering/Science

Tools

Mission Planner

MAVProxy

ArduPilot SITL

Job description

Callen-Lenz is seeking an Autopilot Software Engineer to work on cutting-edge UAV projects in the UK. You will develop ArduPilot-based flight control software, integrate sensors, and validate performance in SITL and real flights.

You will join the Autopilot team responsible for software requirements, design, implementation and testing, contributing to high-integrity aerospace software in a fast-paced R&D environment.