Software Engineer

Apera; Washington (District of Columbia); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Apera in Washington, DC, is seeking a founding member for its Software Engineering team to build and deploy a drone platform driven by AI. You will design and implement Rust services powering autonomy, while collaborating with AI/ML teams to embed autonomy into core systems.

The role covers end-to-end development across the stack, including network protocols, simulation-based testing, and integration with ML pipelines.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant software field.
• 5+ years of professional software engineering experience.
• Proficiency in Rust with willingness to work in Rust-first environment.
• Experience with distributed systems and restricted network environments.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain Rust services across autonomy platforms.
• Collaborate with AI/ML teams to integrate autonomy into systems.
• Work across the stack from network/protocol to applications.
• Use simulation environments to test software.

Skills

Rust

C++

Distributed systems

Embedded systems

Python (AI/ML)

Education

Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or related field

Job description

This role is as a founding member of the Software Engineering team at one of the most valuable defence tech start-ups, revolutionizing AI-powered autonomous systems. This organisation is expanding AI across all domains, providing its defence capabilities internationally.

In this hands on engineering role, you will be responsible for developing and deploying their start of the art drone platform. You will design and build systems to power AI capabilities and develop mission critical products.

Responsibilities:

• Developing and maintaining Rust services across autonomy platforms
• Working with AI and ML teams to integrate autonomy into the systems
• Working across the stack - network and protocol implantation to relevant applications
• Using simulation environments to test the software

Required Experience & Skills:

• Bachelor's degree in Software Engineering, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, or a related field
• 5+ years of professional engineering experience
• Proficiency in Rust
• OR strong software skills in C++ or similar, with willingness to work in Rust
• Experience with distributed systems, particularly in restricted network environments
• Experience with embedded systems OR robotics/autonomy OR drone systems
• Design or built systems, interfacing with ML/AI pipelines
• Familiarity with Python, specifically for AI/ML components