Senior Autonomy Software Engineer

Darwin Recruitment; Tampa (FL); On-site; USD 150,000 - 200,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

401(k)

Health Insurance

Job summary

Darwin Recruitment is seeking a Senior Autonomy Software Engineer in Florida to develop and integrate mission-critical software for autonomous platforms. The role focuses on ground control station software, mission-planning tools, and operator interfaces for UAV/UGV/USV platforms.

Responsibilities include designing and maintaining GCS, integrating with autonomy and payload systems, and delivering high-performance autonomy solutions in a defence tech context.

Qualifications

• Strong software development experience in C++ and/or C#; Python experience is advantageous.
• Experience developing ground control stations, mission-control applications or operator-facing software for UAV/UGV/USV/robotics platforms.
• Experience with mission planning, telemetry, vehicle communications or autonomous system integration.
• Familiarity with MAVLink, ArduPilot, PX4, Qt/QML, WPF or comparable frameworks.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to develop and maintain complex software systems.

Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain ground control station and mission-planning software.
• Build operator-facing interfaces for vehicle control, telemetry, mapping and mission execution.
• Integrate mission software with onboard autonomy, navigation, communications, sensors and payload systems.
• Develop and maintain software interfaces, messaging systems and vehicle-to-ground communications.
• Support software integration, testing, troubleshooting and deployment on operational platforms.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver reliable, high-performance autonomy solutions.

Skills

C++

C#

Python

Tools

MAVLink

ArduPilot

PX4

Qt/QML

WPF

Job description

Senior Autonomy Software Engineer

Location: Florida, USA
Salary: $150,000-$200,000, depending on experience and leadership capability

Role Overview

An innovative defence technology company specialising in advanced unmanned systems is seeking a Senior Autonomy Software Engineer to develop and integrate mission-critical software for autonomous platforms.

The successful candidate will play a key role in developing ground control station (GCS) software, mission-planning tools and operator interfaces, enabling the effective control, monitoring and deployment of unmanned vehicles.

Key Responsibilities

• Design, develop and maintain ground control station and mission-planning software.
• Build operator-facing interfaces for vehicle control, telemetry, mapping and mission execution.
• Integrate mission software with onboard autonomy, navigation, communications, sensors and payload systems.
• Develop and maintain software interfaces, messaging systems and vehicle-to-ground communications.
• Support software integration, testing, troubleshooting and deployment on operational platforms.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary engineering teams to deliver reliable, high-performance autonomy solutions.

Required Experience

• Strong software development experience in C++ and/or C#; Python experience is advantageous.
• Demonstrated experience developing ground control stations, mission-control applications or operator-facing software for UAV, UGV, USV or robotics platforms.
• Experience with mission planning, telemetry, vehicle communications or autonomous system integration.
• Familiarity with technologies such as MAVLink, ArduPilot, PX4, Qt/QML, WPF or comparable frameworks.
• Strong problem-solving skills and the ability to develop and maintain complex software systems.

Desirable Experience

• Experience with unmanned systems.
• Knowledge of distributed systems, embedded software and cross-platform development.
• Technical leadership, software architecture ownership or experience mentoring engineers.

Compensation

The salary range is $150,000-$200,000, with the final package dependent on technical experience, seniority and demonstrated leadership capability + 401(k) + Health Insurance

This is an opportunity to contribute to the development of advanced autonomous defence systems, working on software that directly supports real-world unmanned vehicle operations.