Principal Software Engineer - Robotics & Autonomy Lead

Roboticsconnected; Virginia; On-site; USD 147,000 - 250,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental & Vision

401K

9/80 work schedule

Paid holidays

Benefits portal

Job summary

AeroVironment seeks a Principal Software Engineer to advance AV’s flagship Kinesis software ecosystem, enabling autonomous robotics across platforms. You will own architecture decisions, mentor teams, and collaborate with customers while delivering robust, portable C++ software.

You’ll design cross-platform apps for Android/Linux/Windows, lead SDK interfaces, and perform hands-on field tests to validate features. Occasional US travel is expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Math, or Physics with 12+ years of relevant experience.
• Strong fluency in modern C++, maintainable software architecture, and modular system design.
• Experience evaluating product design tradeoffs and translating them into clear system requirements.
• Hands-on knowledge of CMake or similar build systems.
• Experience developing software for mechatronic or hardware-integrated systems.
• Knowledge of computer networking topologies, protocols, and principles.
• Familiarity with safety critical software concepts such as determinism and real-time systems.
• Self-directed engineer who takes ownership and brings structure to complex systems.
• Ability to engage directly with technical and non-technical customers.
• Ability to leverage AI tooling to improve engineering productivity and code quality.
• Experience tasking and mentoring small engineering teams.
• Ability to obtain a US DoD Secret clearance if required.
• Willingness to travel locally (Occasionally).

Responsibilities

• Software development in support of AV’s vision-based navigation, autonomy, cooperative behaviors, and mission systems technology roadmap.
• Drive technical direction and architectural decisions across the Kinesis ecosystem.
• Design, implement, and integrate systems in C++ and Kotlin.
• Develop cross-platform applications for Android, Linux, and Windows to control robotic platforms.
• Design SDK interfaces for internal and external integration with AV systems.
• Serve as a technical lead for customer programs.
• Perform hands-on field testing with robots to validate new features.
• Delivers work on time according to schedule & budget.
• Supports and derives algorithm design from detailed software requirements.
• Works with multiple teams of software developers reusing software across programs.
• Mentors less experienced engineers in a continuous learning environment.
• Tackle significant issues requiring evaluation of intangibles.
• Operate independently to determine methods and procedures.
• Occasional travel for customer or testing events.
• Other duties as assigned.

Skills

C++

Software architecture

System design

Build systems

Mechatronic hardware

Networking protocols

Real-time systems

Mentoring

Customer interaction

Security clearance

Travel

Education

Bachelor's degree in CS/CE/EE/Math/Physics

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

Docker

Gitlab

Android

Linux

CI/CD tools

FastDDS

gRPC

MQTT

Job description

AeroVironment seeks a Principal Software Engineer to advance AV’s flagship Kinesis software ecosystem, enabling autonomous robotics across platforms. You will own architecture decisions, mentor teams, and collaborate with customers while delivering robust, portable C++ software.

You’ll design cross-platform apps for Android/Linux/Windows, lead SDK interfaces, and perform hands-on field tests to validate features. Occasional US travel is expected.