Flight Research Navigation Software Engineer

XWING; Santa Cruz (CA); On-site; USD 97,600 - 152,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Comprehensive benefits package

401(k) with company match

Paid time off

Job summary

XWING in Santa Cruz is seeking a Flight Research Navigation Software Engineer to develop cutting-edge navigation software for autonomous aircraft. The successful candidate will focus on multi-sensor fusion, integrating perception outputs into flight control systems, and delivering high-quality software.

The position requires expertise in state estimation methods and real-time C++ programming. This role offers a compensation range of $97,600 - $152,000 per year, along with a comprehensive benefits package including RSUs.

Qualifications

• Expert knowledge of modern state estimation methods like Kalman filtering.
• Experience writing real-time C++ flight software.
• Deep knowledge surrounding multi-sensor fusion systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop high-quality navigation and state estimation software (C++).
• Design and implement multi-sensor fusion algorithms.
• Contribute to simulation and analysis tools using C++ and Python.

Skills

C++ programming

State estimation methods

Multi-sensor fusion

Real-time signal processing

Tools

Python

Simulation tools

Job description

Flight Research Navigation Software Engineer

Job Locations: US-CA-Santa Cruz

ID: 2026-4828

Category: Flight Research

Type: Regular Full-Time

Company Overview

Joby Flight Research designs, develops, and flight-tests novel aircraft using a software-first autonomy approach. We build and deploy autonomy, perception, planning, and radar systems across conventional, electric, and hydrogen-electric aircraft in both CTOL and VTOL configurations.

Overview

Joby Aviation’s Flight Research team is looking for a driven Navigation Software Engineer to contribute to the research and development of new aircraft configurations.

We are a small, close-knit and agile team; the engineer will work closely with perception, controls, and autonomy engineers to develop state estimation and navigation capabilities that connect perception systems to flight control and mission management.

The role focuses on multi-sensor fusion, object and vehicle state estimation, and navigation architecture for new aircraft platforms. The engineer will develop algorithms and infrastructure enabling robust aircraft navigation, integrate perception outputs into the control stack, and support the development of advanced autonomy capabilities.

The engineer will be expected to deliver high-quality flight software, act with agency, and be capable of picking up a wide variety of tasks spanning research prototyping, production flight software, and analysis tooling.

Responsibilities

• Develop high-quality navigation and state estimation software (C++) for experimental VTOL and CTOL aircraft.
• Design and implement multi-sensor fusion algorithms incorporating inertial, air data, perception, and external sensor inputs.
• Develop and maintain navigation infrastructure including transform trees, calibration pipelines, and state estimation frameworks.
• Contribute to simulation and analysis tools (C++ / Python) used to evaluate navigation performance and algorithm robustness.
• Integrate perception outputs into downstream systems including flight controls and mission management.
• Formulate and execute test plans to demonstrate navigation accuracy, robustness, and performance.
• Support flight testing of new aircraft.
• Collaborate closely with perception, controls, and autonomy engineers to design well-integrated navigation and estimation architectures.

Required

• Expert knowledge of modern state estimation methods including Kalman filtering, nonlinear filtering, or factor-graph based estimation.
• Experience writing real-time and safety-critical C++ flight software.
• Deep knowledge surrounding multi-sensor fusion systems or state estimation pipelines.
• Experience writing C++ and Python in a professional environment.
• Experience developing simulation or analysis tools for dynamic systems.
• Experience with real-time signal processing.
• Must meet US export control compliance requirements; qualified as a “US Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15.

Desired

• Experience developing navigation systems or perception-integrated state estimators for autonomous aircraft.
• Experience with factor graph based estimation frameworks or differentiable optimization tools (e.g. Symforce, Ceres, GTSAM).
• Experience with multi-object tracking or perception-driven navigation systems.
• Experience developing flight-test experiments for quantitative evaluation of navigation or estimation performance.
• Experience with camera models, pixel measurements, or vision-based navigation systems.
• Experience with system identification and sensor calibration techniques.

Compensation: base pay $97,600 - $152,000/yr; target based on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Includes Restricted Stock Units (RSUs).

Benefits: comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare, 401(k) with company match, ESPP, short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more.

Additional Information

Joby Aviation is an equal opportunity employer.