Senior PX4 Developer

Blackwing; El Segundo, Northern (CA, KY); Hybrid; USD 130,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Rainmaker in El Segundo, CA is seeking a seasoned software engineer with drone autonomy expertise to join our autonomous fleets and weather platform. You will own development of the drone autonomy stack and contribute to PX4 firmware customization for advanced flight behaviors.

We value hands-on engineers who can ship production code in Rust, C++, or Python, and who are comfortable with embedded targets (ESP32, RP2040) and real-time middleware. Relocation to California is encouraged.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of professional experience developing software for PX4/ArduPilot systems.
• Experience shipping production code in Rust, plus C++ or Python.
• Experience developing firmware for ESP32, RP2040, or similar embedded targets.
• Familiarity with CAN, UART, I2C and SPI buses.
• Knowledge of real-time pub/sub middleware (Zenoh, DDS, ROS 2, MQTT, or similar).
• Working knowledge of MAVLink and autopilot integration patterns.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to drone autonomy software stack end-to-end as a domain expert.
• Modify and extend PX4 firmware for custom use cases and flight behaviors.
• Develop firmware for embedded systems across power, peripherals, and sensing.
• Support simulation-based testing in Gazebo, HITL, and SITL environments.
• Assist with flight test support, log analysis, and software debugging.

Skills

PX4/ArduPilot systems

Rust programming

C++ programming

Python programming

Embedded firmware development

CAN/UART/I2C/SPI

Real-time middleware (Zenoh, ROS 2, MQ

MAVLink knowledge

Tools

ESP32

RP2040

Gazebo

HITL

SITL

Job description

Rainmaker builds systems to make it rain. Our autonomous drone fleets and weather modification platform operate worldwide: expanding freshwater supplies, protecting agriculture, and proving that cloud seeding works at scale.

You are:

• A seasoned software engineer with a background in drone autonomy

• Fast, thoughtful, autonomous, and opinionated

• Willing to relocate to El Segundo, California

What you’ll work on:

• Contribute to our drone autonomy software stack end-to-end as a domain expert

• Modify and extend PX4 firmware for custom use cases and flight behaviors

• Develop firmware for embedded systems across power, peripherals, and sensing

• Support simulation-based testing in Gazebo, HITL, and SITL environments

• Assist with flight test support, log analysis, and software debugging

What we’re looking for:

• 3+ years of professional experience developing software for PX4/ArduPilot systems

• Experience shipping production code in Rust, plus C++ or Python

• Experience developing firmware for ESP32, RP2040, or similar embedded targets

• Comfort with low-level peripheral buses: CAN, UART, I2C, SPI

• Experience with real-time pub/sub middleware (Zenoh, DDS, ROS 2, MQTT, or similar)

• Working knowledge of MAVLink and typical autopilot integration patterns

Rainmaker is an Equal Opportunity Employer; employment with Rainmaker is governed on the basis of merit, competence and qualifications and will not be influenced in any manner by race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability or any other legally protected status.

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