Robotics Software Engineer

Hardware FYI; San Francisco (CA); Hybrid; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Salary & equity

Health coverage

PTO 18 days

Field test travel

Meals & snacks

E-bike stipend

Leadership access

Job summary

Aurelius Systems is seeking a Robotics Software Engineer to build fast, reliable C++ for autonomous directed energy hardware. You will transform raw sensor data into real-time tracking, control and autonomous behavior on the Archimedes stack.

Work with our Lead Software Engineer, ship code you wrote, and iterate quickly through testing at field sites. This startup role offers direct impact, equity, and high-velocity learning in a defense tech environment.

Qualifications

• 2+ years writing production C++ that runs on real hardware or real-time systems.
• Evidence of shipping code you wrote.
• Ability to work close to hardware and data paths.

Responsibilities

• Production C++ across the stack: sensor ingestion, tracking, control and autonomy.
• Working directly with drivers and raw sensor data, not pre-packaged inputs.
• Threading, process architecture and performance on the paths you own.
• Timing and latency analysis, and making the fixes it points to.
• Python tooling for testing, analysis and the range.
• Debugging on hardware at weekly field tests.

Skills

Production C++

Low-level programming

Threading & performance

Learning agility

Education

BS/MS/PhD in CS/EE/Robotics

Tools

ROS2

Rust

Sensor integration

Real-time Linux

Job description

Who We Are:

Aurelius Systems is a VC backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones.

We're a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. The first cost effective, reliable and robust laser weapon system.

Our namesake isn't an accident. Marcus Aurelius wrote about doing the work in front of you, every day, without excuses. Henry Ford didn't wait for permission to reinvent manufacturing. That's how we operate, small team, unreasonable output, no hiding behind the unachievable.

In addition to our San Francisco lab, we opened our Detroit manufacturing hub and field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range.

The Role and Your Impact:

We need a Robotics Software Engineer who writes fast, correct C++ that runs on real hardware. You’ll work on the Archimedes stack alongside our Lead Software Engineer, taking raw sensor data and turning it into tracking, control and autonomy that has to work in real time. Performance and accuracy matter more than anything. Your scope grows as fast as you do; our Lead went from Founding Robotics Engineer to Lead in 12 months.

What You’ll Own:

• Production C++ across the stack: sensor ingestion, tracking, control and autonomy
• Working directly with drivers and raw sensor data, not pre-packaged inputs
• Threading, process architecture and performance on the paths you own
• Timing and latency analysis, and making the fixes it points to
• Python tooling for testing, analysis and the range
• Debugging on hardware at weekly field tests

What We’re Looking For:

• 2+ years writing production C++ that runs on real hardware or real-time systems
• Comfort below the abstraction layer: threading, concurrency, memory, performance profiling
• You implement, not just design. You’ve shipped code you wrote
• Evidence you learn fast: you got effective in a new domain in months, not years

Where you probably come from:

We’re domain agnostic. Robotics, AV, drones, aerospace, F1 or automotive, maritime, embedded systems, compilers, or low-level C++ game engine and 3D simulation work all fit. A robotics degree isn’t required; the robotics is learnable on the job.

We want to talk if:

You’ve written C++ where latency or timing actually mattered and you measured it. Bonus if your projects touch motion planning, dynamics, trajectory optimization, or state estimation.

Not a fit if:

You’re web, backend or full stack; your C++ is light and your real work is in Python; you’ve never had a full-time role; or you design systems but don’t implement them.

Nice to Haves:

• ROS2 (a good signal, though we've moved past it)
• Rust or other systems languages
• Sensor integration and calibration
• Real-time Linux

Education:

BS, MS or PhD in CS, EE, Robotics or equivalent. Track record matters more than degree.

How You Operate:

• Extreme bias for action. You'd rather build a prototype tomorrow than model it for a month
• You characterize your own systems before the field does
• Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration in a startup environment
• You debug from first principles, not intuition alone
• Clear communicator across mechanical, electrical, optical, and software teams
• Self directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told

Why Join Aurelius Systems:

• Build more in 1 month than most engineers build in 1 year. We field test weekly. Your work goes downrange, not into a filing cabinet.
• Career velocity is real. With no middle management, there are no layers between you and impact.
• Work on a problem that actually matters. Small cheap drones are changing warfare. Our laser systems are the asymmetric answer - infinite magazine, near zero cost per shot, scalable to every base, border, facility, and truck.
• Join the densest defense startup ecosystem in the country. California is where the next generation of defense companies are being built.

How We Work:

Core hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 6. When we're sprinting toward a demo or field test, the team ramps up — nights, weekends, whatever it takes to ship. When the sprint lands, we ramp down. We don't manufacture intensity for show. If you've worked at SpaceX, against a mission-critical timeline, or on a racing team, you already know the rhythm.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and equity
• United Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible 18 days PTO plus 5 sick days
• Travel to field test events and range days
• Covered daily lunches and office snacks and drinks
• E-bike and scooter stipend up to $500
• Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your work

Export Control Notice:

This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require U.S. Person status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a U.S. Person: (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).