Robotics Engineer — UAVs, SLAM, Field Validation

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

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.