Senior UAV Autonomy Engineer — GPS-Denied Flight & Docking

SiMa.ai, Inc.; San Jose (CA); On-site; USD 121,000 - 193,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits package

Job summary

SiMa.ai in San Jose, CA is looking for a Sr. UAV Autonomy Engineer to own the core drone stack, focusing on GPS-denied navigation, perception, localization, and autonomous docking on embedded hardware.

You will lead development of the autonomy stack, implement real-time obstacle avoidance and motion planning, and work with PX4/ArduPilot ecosystems to deliver a robust, power-efficient solution for on-site drone platforms.

Qualifications

• 5+ years building autonomy software on real aircraft.
• Hands-on experience with VIO/SLAM and state estimation.
• Strong math and 3D geometry, rigid-body dynamics.
• Proficient in C++, Python, ROS 2.

Responsibilities

• Lead development of drone autonomy stack.
• Develop GPS-denied navigation and localization systems.
• Build autonomous docking and precision landing.
• Implement perception and motion planning for obstacle avoidance.
• Optimize edge deployment on embedded hardware.
• Manage camera-IMU calibration, SIL/HIL rigs, and flight tests.

Skills

Flight experience

VIO/SLAM

Sensor fusion

C++, Python

ROS 2

Education

BS/MS in Robotics, Aerospace, CS, or EE

Tools

PX4/ArduPilot

MAVLink

Job description

SiMa.ai in San Jose, CA is looking for a Sr. UAV Autonomy Engineer to own the core drone stack, focusing on GPS-denied navigation, perception, localization, and autonomous docking on embedded hardware.

You will lead development of the autonomy stack, implement real-time obstacle avoidance and motion planning, and work with PX4/ArduPilot ecosystems to deliver a robust, power-efficient solution for on-site drone platforms.