Senior Autonomy Software Engineer – Aircraft AI Platform

Front Door Defense; Santa Cruz, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 167,000 - 243,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Healthcare benefits

401(k) plan with company match

Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)

Disability coverage

Life insurance

Job summary

Joby Aviation seeks an Autonomy Staff Software Engineer to design and build the AI software for the Superpilot autonomy stack. You will own and develop software for autonomous aircraft, collaborating with experts in vision, ML, and robotics to enable safe, cross‑fleet autonomy.

You will architect perception software, data collection, calibration, and testing systems. The role requires deep software engineering and autonomy experience, with a focus on robust, scalable solutions across multiple

Qualifications

• Degree in computer science, aerospace engineering, or related field.
• 10+ years of experience in software engineering.
• Experience in developing software and systems for autonomous vehicles.
• Experience in real-time, embedded software development.
• Strong proficiency in C++ and Python.
• Experience in devops such as Git, Docker, CI/CD, automation.
• Experience developing software for high-bandwidth sensor data for robotics (cameras, lidars).
• Ability to invent and own technical solutions in autonomy software.
• Proven ability to document complex technical designs and roadmaps.
• Champion of software best practices and mentorship.
• Excellent communication for cross-functional collaboration.

Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and maintain autonomy software across the stack.
• Develop CV/ML algorithms for perception and reasoning in autonomous aircraft.
• Contribute to integration, flight test, and simulation work across autonomy teams.
• Build software systems for real-time, edge compute platforms.
• Optimize perception algorithms for autonomous aircraft.
• Support SW deployment, testing, and iteration.
• Develop data collection and processing software for aircraft autonomy.
• Collaborate with sensing, controls, and flight software teams.

Skills

C++

Python

DevOps

Embedded real‑time software

High bandwidth sensor data (cameras, L

Documentation & architecture

Software best practices

Communication

Education

B.S./M.S. in computer science, aerospace engineering, or related field

Tools

Git

Docker

CI/CD

Job description

Joby Aviation seeks an Autonomy Staff Software Engineer to design and build the AI software for the Superpilot autonomy stack. You will own and develop software for autonomous aircraft, collaborating with experts in vision, ML, and robotics to enable safe, cross‑fleet autonomy.

You will architect perception software, data collection, calibration, and testing systems. The role requires deep software engineering and autonomy experience, with a focus on robust, scalable solutions across multiple