Software Engineer

Powerus; United States; On-site; USD 110,000 - 145,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity incentive

Performance bonus

Job summary

Powerus is seeking a Software Engineer I to develop embedded intelligence powering autonomous platforms for defense and critical infrastructure. You will work on software that runs directly on autonomous hardware, including flight computers, sensors, and edge computing platforms.

You will collaborate with engineers across disciplines to advance perception, navigation, flight controls, and mission autonomy in real-time systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical field or equivalent.
• Strong C++ foundation and Python proficiency.
• Experience with Linux-based development environments.
• Familiarity with core software engineering principles.
• Interest in robotics and autonomous systems with hardware interaction.

Responsibilities

• Develop embedded and autonomy software for unmanned systems.
• Implement autonomous navigation, guidance, and mission execution.
• Integrate flight controllers and onboard sensors.
• Work with ROS2, MAVLink, and related frameworks.
• Participate in testing: simulation, hardware-in-the-loop and field tests.
• Collaborate with hardware and systems engineers.
• Diagnose software/hardware integration issues using telemetry and logs.

Skills

C++

Python

Linux

Robotics interest

Software engineering principles

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

ROS2

PX4

ArduPilot

MAVLink

NVIDIA Jetson

Embedded Linux

CUDA

TensorRT

Job description

Software Engineer I - Autonomous Systems

Compensation: $110,000 - $145,000 base salary + performance bonus + equity

About Powerus

Powerus is building the next generation of autonomous systems for defense, national security and critical infrastructure.

We design, develop and manufacture autonomous aircraft, maritime platforms and robotic systems that combine advanced hardware with edge AI, perception, flight controls and mission autonomy.

Our engineers build technology that interacts with the physical world. Software developed at

Powerus runs onboard real systems, processes real sensor data and makes decisions in real time.

Position Summary

Powerus is seeking a Software Engineer I - Autonomous Systems to join our engineering team developing the embedded intelligence powering our autonomous platforms.

This is a hands-on engineering position focused on software that runs directly on autonomous hardware, including flight computers, embedded processors, sensors, payloads and edge computing platforms.

You will work alongside experienced engineers to develop, integrate and test capabilities spanning flight controls, navigation, perception, sensor fusion, edge AI and mission autonomy.

This is not a SaaS, web application or enterprise software role. We are looking for engineers who want to write software that makes physical systems perceive, navigate, fly and operate autonomously.

What You'll Build

You will contribute to technologies including autonomous flight software, edge AI running directly onboard robotic platforms, flight control and navigation systems, sensor fusion pipelines, perception and computer vision, mission planning and autonomous decision-making, and software deployed on real aircraft, maritime systems and robotic platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop embedded and autonomy software for unmanned aerial, maritime and robotic systems.
• Implement features supporting autonomous navigation, guidance, control and mission execution.
• Contribute to flight controller software and integrations using platforms such as PX4 and ArduPilot.
• Integrate onboard sensors including cameras, GPS/INS, IMUs, LiDAR and radar.
• Develop software running on embedded Linux and edge computing platforms.
• Support deployment of AI and computer vision models directly onto autonomous platforms.
• Develop in C++, Python and embedded C as appropriate.
• Integrate hardware and software through ROS2, MAVLink and related frameworks.
• Participate in simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, field testing and live flight testing.
• Diagnose software and hardware integration issues using telemetry, logs and debugging tools.
• Participate in technical design reviews and code reviews.
• Work directly with electrical, mechanical, hardware and systems engineers.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering or a related technical discipline, or equivalent demonstrated technical capability.
• Strong foundation in C++.
• Working proficiency with Python.
• Understanding of Linux-based development environments.
• Strong understanding of fundamental software engineering principles.
• Demonstrated interest in robotics, autonomous systems, embedded computing or aerospace.
• Ability to solve technical problems spanning both software and hardware.
• Ability and willingness to work directly with physical systems during integration and testing.

Preferred Qualifications

Experience with one or more of the following is highly desirable: ROS2, PX4, ArduPilot, MAVLink, NVIDIA Jetson, Qualcomm edge computing platforms, embedded Linux, CUDA, TensorRT, computer vision, sensor fusion, SLAM, GPS/INS navigation, flight controllers, robotics, unmanned aircraft systems or autonomous vehicles.

Relevant university research, robotics competitions, Formula SAE, UAV projects and independently developed autonomous systems are highly valued.

What Success Looks Like

At this level, success means becoming a reliable contributor who can take defined technical problems, develop high-quality solutions and progressively take ownership of increasingly complex components.

You will be expected to learn quickly, spend time working directly with our hardware and develop a deep understanding of how software decisions affect the performance of the overall autonomous system.

Why Join Powerus

Powerus offers engineers the opportunity to work on problems where software, artificial intelligence and hardware meet.

You won't spend your time optimizing dashboards or building enterprise applications. You'll develop technology that flies, navigates, senses, decides and operates in the real world.

We operate with the speed and ownership of a technology company while solving some of the most consequential engineering challenges in defense and autonomous systems.

Compensation

The anticipated base salary range for this position is $110,000 - $145,000, depending on experience, skills and qualifications.

In addition to competitive cash compensation, eligible employees may participate in the Company's equity incentive and performance bonus programs.

Powerus is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to building a high-performance team based on ability, experience, character and potential and consider qualified applicants without regard to legally protected characteristics.