Drone Autonomy Engineer - C++ Hardware-Software Integration

Applied Intuition; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 130,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Applied Intuition, Inc. is seeking a Software Engineer for the Drone Stack team in the U.S. to design and integrate autonomy systems spanning hardware and software.

You will deploy autonomy algorithms in SIL, HIL and live test environments and collaborate across cross-functional teams for defense and commercial customers. You will work on embedded Linux platforms, sensor interfacing, and data collection, tackling complex integration challenges to ensure reliability, safety, and performance.

Qualifications

• BS or MS in Robotics, Computer Science or related engineering field.
• 3+ years of hands-on experience working with robotic systems (hardware, software, and integration).
• Experience with software programming languages: C++ preferred.
• Experience integrating autonomy/robotics products with Pixhawk autopilots (ArduPilot and/or PX4).
• Experience integrating with communication buses & protocols: UART/RS232/RS422/RS485, SPI/QSPI, I2C, Ethernet.
• Experience developing in Docker, containerized deployment environments, and using Linux-based operating systems (e.g., RHEL, Ubuntu).
• Experience using git, Visual Studio Code, GitLab.
• Familiarity with real-time, edge computing, and safety-critical systems operating in SIL, HIL, test & operational environments.
• Excellent communication skills and customer-oriented project delivery mindset.
• Willingness to travel frequently for on-site integration and demonstrations (estimated 10–20%).
• Must be a U.S. Citizen
• Must be eligible to obtain and maintain a U.S. security clearance

Responsibilities

• Adapt and develop modular and agile autonomy capabilities across diverse defense problems.
• Integrate and deploy autonomy solutions onto embedded Linux and other hardware platforms, including interfacing with sensors and collecting data.
• Troubleshoot complex integration and software issues to ensure high reliability and performance.
• Integrate autonomy software into hardware in collaboration with autonomy engineers that supports full integration with aircraft autopilots, datalinks, sensors, PNT/GPS/INS, ground control stations, etc.
• Support live flight test of autonomy software on group 1-5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
• Collaborate with 3rd party UAS vehicle vendors on the integration of Applied autonomy software onto OEM UAS hardware.
• Conduct system-level setup, testing, and validation, including software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop evaluations.
• Collaborate with autonomy engineers to implement service-oriented-architecture software and inter-process messaging systems for autonomous UASs; collaborate with DoD warfighter domain experts and 3rd party UAS vehicle vendors to develop and integrate autonomy software onto OEM hardware

Skills

C++

Robotics

Embedded Linux

Sensor integration

Git/GitLab

Education

BS or MS in Robotics or CS

Tools

Docker

GitLab

VS Code

Linux

Job description

Applied Intuition, Inc. is seeking a Software Engineer for the Drone Stack team in the U.S. to design and integrate autonomy systems spanning hardware and software.

You will deploy autonomy algorithms in SIL, HIL and live test environments and collaborate across cross-functional teams for defense and commercial customers. You will work on embedded Linux platforms, sensor interfacing, and data collection, tackling complex integration challenges to ensure reliability, safety, and performance.