Senior Forward-Deployed Autonomy Engineer

Front Door Defense; Arlington (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical Insurance

Dental & Vision Insurance

Stock Options

401(k) Plan

Free lunch and snacks

Job summary

Saronic Technologies in Arlington, VA seeks a Senior Forward Deployed Software Engineer to lead the integration, deployment, and continuous improvement of autonomous service vessels in real-world conditions. You will work hands-on across software, networking, and autonomy to ensure reliable operation in demanding maritime environments.

You will debug autonomy algorithms, optimize system performance with real-world data, collaborate with operators and end-users, and contribute to architectural

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience developing autonomy or robotics systems.
• Proficient in C++, Rust, Python or similar languages with performance-critical software experience.
• Deep background in robotics, autonomy, or embedded systems, especially maritime/aerospace/defense sectors.
• Strong understanding of networking protocols and distributed systems (TCP/IP, UDP, DDS, ROS/ZeroMQ).

Responsibilities

• Lead design, development, and optimization of autonomous software, networking, and mission execution in dynamic maritime environments.
• Drive field testing and deployment strategies, validating autonomy, perception, and control under operational conditions.
• Analyze mission-critical performance data and translate insights into software improvements.
• Architect and integrate new autonomy capabilities across software, sensors, and vessel hardware.
• Collaborate with operators and end-users to capture requirements and guide autonomy stack evolution.
• Lead incident response and root cause analysis for software, hardware, and networking issues.
• Mentor cross-functional teams to improve engineering practices and deployment readiness.
• Create deployment protocols and diagnostics to scale autonomy systems in fleets.

Skills

Autonomy software

C++

Rust

Python

Networking

ROS

Embedded systems

Tools

ROS

ZeroMQ

DDS

Job description

Saronic Technologies in Arlington, VA seeks a Senior Forward Deployed Software Engineer to lead the integration, deployment, and continuous improvement of autonomous service vessels in real-world conditions. You will work hands-on across software, networking, and autonomy to ensure reliable operation in demanding maritime environments.

You will debug autonomy algorithms, optimize system performance with real-world data, collaborate with operators and end-users, and contribute to architectural