Robotics Engineer

Minerva Defence; United States; Remote; USD 110,000 - 160,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Relocation support

Home office budget

Share options vesting over three years

Private health insurance

Pension contribution

25 days leave + holidays

AI tooling access

Enhanced parental leave

Job summary

Minerva Defence is seeking a hands-on robotics engineer to own the full arc of platform capability development, from hardware integration and sensors to software and flight validation.

You’ll work directly with users, perform hands-on flight testing, and shape long‑term autonomy and sensing roadmaps for UAV systems. This role spans hardware, software, navigation and perception, with opportunities to influence priorities as the team grows.

Qualifications

• Robotics engineering experience in a real system, not just academic work.
• Hands-on work with robotic navigation, SLAM or computer vision.
• Comfortable with hardware and software across the full stack of a physical system.
• Proficiency in Python; ROS or similar frameworks a strong plus.
• Eligible for UK security clearance (SC) or equivalent.

Responsibilities

• Own the development of new platform capabilities end to end, from requirement through to field validation.
• Integrate hardware including sensors, camera systems, and communications equipment into the platform.
• Develop software across perception, navigation, and communications, with accountability for outputs.
• Work on robotic navigation challenges including SLAM and localisation in GPS-constrained environments.
• Take part in flight testing and validation.
• Work directly with users; their feedback is the brief.
• Contribute to the long-term autonomy and sensing roadmap for the platform.

Job description

Combine hardware, software,UAVsand piloting for a real-world hands-on role where no two days are the same.

Minerva Defence is one of the fastest-growing defence technology companies in Europe. We create the software, hardware and networking that make unmanned systems effective on the modern battlefield, all ideated, designed and manufactured end-to-end in the UK, and in active use today. We are deliberately low-profile: a team of around 60, small in headcount and outsized in effect. We look for people who are not just talented but genuinely committed to the work, the team, and the purpose behind it.

This role sits at thecentreof the platform’s capability development, working directly with the users to understand what they need and then building it.You’llown the full arc: hardware integration, software development, flight validation. In the short term there’s hands-on flight testing involved, and most engineers here would tell youthat’sone of the better parts of the job. Over time, as the team grows,you’llhave more say over where you focus.

Responsibilities

• Own the development of new platform capabilities end to end, from requirement through to field validation

• Integrate hardware including sensors, camera systems, and communications equipment into the platform

• Develop software across perception, navigation, and communications, with real accountability for what ships

• Work on robotic navigation challenges including SLAM and localisation in GPS-constrained environments

• Take part in flight testing and validation.

• Work directly with users; their feedback is your brief

• Contribute to the long-term autonomy and sensing roadmap for the platform

Minimum:

• Solid, applied experience in robotics engineering, not just academic familiarity
• Hands-on work with robotic navigation, SLAM, or computer vision in a real system
• Comfortable working across hardware and software, the full stack of a physical system
• Python proficiency; experience with ROS or similar frameworks a strong plus
• Eligible for UK security clearance (SC): UK citizen or 5+ years UK residency

Preferred:

• Experience with UAV, UAS, or autonomous aerospace systems
• Familiarity with PX4 or ArduPilot
• Knowledge of RF, radio, or communications systems integration
• Track record of taking a capability from prototype to something that actually gets used
• Comfortable in a role where the scope is real and the priorities occasionally shift with a phone call

The job is demanding enough, so we try to take the everyday pressures off your plate. The benefits are built around that, starting with a genuine stake in what we are building.

• Share options vesting over three years, so you own a real piece of it
• Bupa private health, fully funded from day one
• 6% employer pension contribution
• 25 days leave plus bank holidays, and properly enhanced cover for both parents
• Enterprise level AI tooling, with as many tokens as you need to accelerate your work
• Relocation support if you are moving to join us, or a home office budget if you work remotely

The full detail comes with your offer.