Senior Software Engineer, Streaming

Skydio; San Mateo (CA); On-site; USD 200,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Stock options

Relocation assistance

Health insurance

401K savings plan

Job summary

Skydio is the leading US drone company building real-time infrastructure for autonomous flight. You will design and maintain streaming and telemetry services enabling mission-critical operations across millions of flights annually.

You’ll tackle massively concurrent, low-latency systems, optimize performance over constrained networks, and contribute to Skydio Connect Fusion and other stateful frameworks. FAA Part 107 certification is encouraged for most roles.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience building and operating complex distributed systems.
• Experience with distributed messaging systems such as Kafka or Pulsar.
• Experience deploying stateful systems with CI/CD.
• Strong problem-solving across connectivity, backend services, and infrastructure.
• FAA Part 107 certification within 60 days is encouraged for all Skydio employees.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain real-time infrastructure powering autonomous drones.
• Develop video streaming and telemetry services for mission-critical operations.
• Work on massively concurrent, low-latency distributed systems handling terabytes of data daily.
• Shape evolution of real-time frameworks to improve reliability and performance.

Skills

Distributed systems

Messaging systems

CI/CD

Problem solving

Real-time media

Streaming protocols

Go programming

Tools

Kafka/Pulsar

Livekit/MediaMTX

Job description

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.

About the Role:

As a member of this team, you’ll help build the real-time infrastructure that powers some of the world's most advanced autonomous drones. You’ll design and maintain world-class video streaming and telemetry services that enable customers to carry out mission-critical operations across millions of flights each year. Working on massively concurrent, low-latency distributed systems that process terabytes of data every day, you’ll tackle complex performance and scalability challenges with real-world impact. You’ll also shape the evolution of Skydio’s real-time frameworks, empowering engineering teams across the company to build sophisticated, stateful applications more efficiently. From optimizing performance over constrained network connections to advancing industry-leading technologies like Skydio Connect Fusion, you’ll solve difficult technical problems that directly enhance the reliability, responsiveness, and capabilities of our products.

What Makes You a Good Fit:

• 5+ years of experience building / running complex distributed systems.
• Experience with distributed messaging systems, like Apache Pulsar or Kafka.
• Prior experience implementing continuous deployment for complex stateful systems.
• You’re someone who loves tackling complex problems across connectivity, backend services, and infrastructure components.

• Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions.

Nice to Have:

• Experience with real time media delivery infrastructure, such as Livekit, MediaMTX, etc.
• Experience with streaming protocols, such as WebRTC, QUIC, HLS, etc.
• Experience with low-level video protocols and codecs, such as H264, H265, RTP, etc.
• Experience with Go.

Compensation:

• At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $200,000-240,000*. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-term financial growth, and we ensure all regular, full-time employees have the opportunity to significantly benefit from the company's success. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company’s group health insurance plans. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan. This position and all associated benefits are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as the Company’s policies and eligibility criteria.
• *Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position’s location.

#LI-WA1

At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.

Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.

For positions located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/