Senior Software Engineer, Operator Tools

Elroy Air; California (MO); On-site; USD 180,000 - 275,000; Full time

Job summary

Elroy Air in California is seeking a Senior Software Engineer to develop and enhance desktop applications for operator tools. This role emphasizes collaboration with engineers across embedded systems and software architecture, ensuring high-quality user experiences under operational conditions.

The ideal candidate will possess strong skills in C++ and Python and have a proven track record in desktop and web-based application development. The position offers a competitive salary ranging from $180,000 to $275,000 annually.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of professional software development experience.
• Strong skills in C++ and Python.
• Experience with desktop application development and web-based tools.

Responsibilities

• Design and build desktop applications and interfaces.
• Collaborate closely with engineers from various disciplines.
• Develop tools for mission planning and real-time telemetry.

Skills

C++

Python

Desktop application development

Web-based tools

UI Design

Communication interfaces

Data visualization

Tools

Qt

Electron

React

Job description

Elroy builds autonomous aerospace systems for the real world. The people who deploy, maintain, and operate those systems need software that is clear, fast, and trustworthy under pressure. Our operator tooling team builds the desktop applications, visualization interfaces, and ground support software that bridge the gap between the vehicle and the humans responsible for it. If you care deeply about the operator experience, have strong instincts for software architecture, and aren’t afraid to venture into the embedded or cloud layers when the problem demands it, this role is for you.

The Role

As a Senior Software Engineer on the Operator Tools team, you will design and build the desktop applications and interfaces that Elroy’s operators and engineers use every day. This includes mission planning tools, real-time telemetry displays, diagnostic interfaces, and ground support workflows. However, this is not a pure front‑end role: you will collaborate closely with engineers from a wide variety of disciplines including embedded systems, control systems, flight physics, and power electronics. You will need enough systems intuition to understand the data you’re visualizing and the workflows you’re supporting.

What You’ll Work On

• Desktop application development for mission planning, real‑time telemetry, and vehicle diagnostics (Qt, Electron, or similar native/hybrid desktop frameworks)
• Visualization and data presentation for complex, time‑series, and spatial data from autonomous systems
• Communication interfaces between desktop tools and embedded systems (serial, UDP, custom protocols, MAVLink or similar)
• Ground support tooling: calibration workflows, pre‑flight checks, log analysis, and fleet management interfaces
• Collaboration with the simulation infrastructure team to expose cloud batch results in accessible, actionable UI
• Web‑based data analysis and visualization tools that connect to cloud databases. Think interactive flight data replay, post‑mission analysis dashboards, and fleet‑level trend reporting
• C++ and Python development across the stack; comfort moving between application logic and lower‑level interfaces
• Contribution to the team’s overall software architecture and developer experience, particularly for tooling and internal platforms

What We’re Looking For

You probably have:

• 5+ years of professional software development, with experience across desktop application development and web‑based tools, ideally both
• Strong C++ and/or Python skills; experience structuring non‑trivial desktop applications
• A track record of building UIs that are usable under real‑world operational conditions, not just demos
• Ability to work across the stack: from application logic down to protocol parsing or up to data visualization
• Experience integrating applications with real hardware or real‑time data sources
• High standards for software architecture, API design, and internal tooling quality

It’s a bonus if you have:

• Experience in aerospace, defense, robotics, or other safety‑critical domains
• Familiarity with embedded software concepts: you don’t need to write firmware, but you should be able to read it, build it, run it, and understand its constraints
• Experience with cloud‑based simulation or batch processing infrastructure
• Exposure to geospatial visualization, 3D rendering, or time‑series data at scale

Our Stack

• Primary languages: C++ and Python
• Desktop frameworks: Qt and/or Electron (we’re pragmatic and flexible about tooling choices)
• Web UI: React or similar modern framework for cloud‑connected data visualization and analysis tools; backends in Python
• Data: custom telemetry protocols, time‑series logs, simulation output from cloud batch runners
• Version control and CI: Git, GitHub, cloud‑based batch simulation and test runners
• Modern AI coding tools used as productivity accelerators, not as a substitute for engineering judgment

Who We Are

Elroy’s software team is small, senior, and exceptionally cross‑functional. Most engineers here are comfortable working across embedded firmware, desktop tools, and cloud infrastructure. Not because we expect everyone to be an expert in everything, but because we value curiosity and adaptability over and above having all of the answers on day one. We’re looking for someone who brings deep experience in development of operator/user‑facing tooling, and is excited to share it.

$180,000 - $275,000 a year