Autonomy Software Engineer

TILT Autonomy; Annapolis (MD); Remote; USD 90,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

ICHRA health benefit

401(k)

Paid time off

Job summary

TILT Autonomy is hiring to write the autonomy software that runs on aircraft and vessels, including embedded real-time code near the metal and the control and estimation logic to make systems fly and sail themselves.

You'll own problems from vague goals, determine what done looks like, build it, simulate it, then deploy to hardware and observe results. Remote or on-site in Annapolis, MD with DOE pay.

Qualifications

• Strong C/C++ coding for embedded systems and real-time constraints.
• Experience on embedded Linux targets and sensor integration.
• Git fluency and ability to work independently in a small team.
• U.S. citizenship or permanent residency is required.

Responsibilities

• Write embedded/real-time software for flight and vessel platforms.
• Build and tune control, guidance, and state-estimation logic, validated in sim and on hardware.
• Integrate sensors, actuators, and communications, and diagnose hardware-boundary issues.
• Improve tooling and infrastructure, including ground software and data pipelines.

Skills

C/C++ programming

Embedded/real-time

Linux targets

Git

Python tooling

US citizenship / permanent residency

Tools

PX4

ArduPilot

MAVLink

ROS2

Job description

$90k–$180k DOE Full-Time Remote Annapolis, MD

TILT Autonomy builds the autonomy hardware and software that lets aircraft and boats flyand sail themselves — flight management control systems, the code that runs on them, andthe tools that make both possible. Most of us got here the same way: taking things apart,writing our own tools when the ones on the shelf didn't fit, and staying up too late toget something working. The team is focused and deeply technical, and our systems are outin the field doing real work. Full-Time | $90k–$180k DOE

About TILT

TILT Autonomy builds the autonomy hardware and software that lets aircraft and boats flyand sail themselves — flight management control systems, the code that runs on them, andthe tools that make both possible. Most of us got here the same way: taking things apart,writing our own tools when the ones on the shelf didn't fit, and staying up too late toget something working. The team is focused and deeply technical, and our systems are outin the field doing real work.

Some questions we actually care about:

• Do you build your own tools when the existing ones get in your way?
• Do you want to go deep on both sides of the boundary — the software and the hardware itruns on?
• Is there a project on your bench right now that nobody asked you to start?
• Does shipping a capability that didn't exist last month mean more to you than a title?

If you found yourself nodding, keep reading. The engineers who do their best work hereare the ones with a soldering iron and a 3D printer at home, a repo full of scripts theywrote for an audience of one, and a habit of building the thing rather than filing aticket about it.

The Role

You'll write the autonomy software that runs on the aircraft and the vessels — embedded,real-time code close to the metal, the control and estimation logic that makes a plane ora boat do the right thing, and whatever tooling you need to prove it works. You'll ownproblems from the fuzzy end: take a goal nobody has fully specified, decide what "done"looks like, build it, break it in sim, then go put it on hardware and watch it move.

The surface is wide by design. One week is firmware and sensor timing.The next is a control loop, a ground-station feature, or a test rig you build because measuring the thing was harder than fixing it. If your instinct when something isannoying is to go build the tool that makes it not annoying, that instinct is the job.

What You'll Own

• Write and test embedded / real-time software for flight and vessel platforms
• Build and tune control, guidance, and state-estimation logic, validated in sim and onhardware
• Integrate sensors, actuators, and comms — reason about timing, and diagnose issues at the hardware boundary
• Improve the tooling and infrastructure the team builds on — ground software, testrigs, data pipelines, internal tools
• Take a fuzzy directive and carry it to a working, tested result without waiting to betold the next step

What We're Looking For

Must have:

• - Strong C++ and/or C, and the judgment to write software that holds up under demanding conditions
• - Comfort on embedded, real-time, or Linux targets
• - Solid grasp of sensors, timing, and working at the hardware boundary
• - Git-fluent, and able to work independently on a focused team with shifting priorities
• - U.S. citizenship or permanent residency

Strongly preferred:

• - Flight-stack experience — PX4, ArduPilot, MAVLink, or ROS2
• - Controls, state estimation, or GNC fundamentals (Kalman filtering, PID, simulation)
• - Python for tooling and analysis
• - Experience taking code onto vehicles or other hardware

Nice to have:

• - UAV, marine, or other uncrewed-systems domain experience
• - DDS or other comms/telemetry work
• - Full-stack ability for internal tools and dashboards
• - Active security clearance

We care more about what you can build than where you learned it. No specific degree isrequired, and the pay band spans mid-level through senior — we'll match the offer to theperson.

Why TILT

• Build things that didn't exist. Focused team, hard problems, and novel capabilitythat ends up on real aircraft and vessels.
• Ownership. You'll have meaningful influence over what we build and how, and seeyour code run on hardware.
• Sustainable pace. We work hard and build for the long haul.
• Benefits. ICHRA health benefit, 401(k), and paid time off.

Location & Schedule

Remote or on-site in Annapolis, MD. Local candidates get more time at the bench with thehardware; remote works well for engineers who can drive their own work and traveloccasionally for integration and testing.

This role requires U.S. citizenship or permanent residency because of the workwe do for the U.S. government. Are you a U.S. citizen or permanent resident?