Staff/Principal, Robotics Software Engineer

Wheel the World; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary and equity

United Health Care medical, dental, &-

Flexible PTO 18 days + 5 sick days

Travel to field test events and range.

E-bike and scooter stipend up to $500

Direct access to leadership and real-

Job summary

Aurelius Systems in San Francisco is seeking a tenured Robotics Software Engineer to lead architecture across the robotics stack, from perception to deployment. You will partner with the CTO and own the path from prototype to fielded software on real hardware.

You are a senior IC with shipped systems, deep ROS2 experience, and a track record building CI/CD for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop. This role demands action, ownership, and cross-functional collaboration.

Qualifications

• Shipped robotics software systems with deployed impact
• Experience taking software from prototype to fielded product
• Deep ROS2 experience and good judgment on when to avoid it
• Proven track record building and operating CI/CD for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop
• Ability to lead and mentor an IC-focused robotics team

Responsibilities

• Architect the robotics software stack and guide technical direction
• Establish release, packaging, and deployment hygiene for fielded systems
• Scale CI/CD and tooling with QA to support rapid shipping
• Mentor robotics engineers and elevate code quality
• Coordinate across perception, controls, embedded, and EE to ship end-to-end

Skills

Robotics software

ROS2

CI/CD for robotics

Architectural leadership

Ship hardware in the field

Education

BS/MS/PhD in CS/Robotics/EE

Tools

Git

Docker

Linux

ROS

Job description

Who We Are:

Aurelius Systems is a VC backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones.

We're a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. The first cost effective, reliable and robust laser weapon system.

Our namesake isn't an accident. Marcus Aurelius wrote about doing the work in front of you, every day, without excuses. Henry Ford didn't wait for permission to reinvent manufacturing. That's how we operate - small team, unreasonable output, no hiding behind the unachievable.

In addition to our San Francisco lab, we’ve opened a Detroit manufacturing hub and we field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range.

The Role and Your Impact:

We need a tenured Robotics Software Engineer to lead architecture across the robotics stack on Archimedes - perception, control, autonomy, and the infrastructure that lets us ship. You'll partner directly with our CTO and own the path from prototype code to deployed software. You're the senior IC who's done this at scale and knows how to take a research-y stack into a deployable product without breaking it.

What You’ll Own:

• Architecture and technical direction for the robotics software stack

• Formal release process, packaging, and deployment hygiene for fielded systems

• CI/CD infrastructure and software org scaling alongside QA

• Mentorship of robotics SWE team and setting the bar for code quality

• Cross-functional alignment across perception, controls, embedded, and EE

• Owning the path from prototype code to fielded software in customer hands

What We’re Looking For:

• Deep experience of robotics software engineering with real shipped systems behind you

• Senior IC track record at robotics companies that actually shipped to customers or operators

• Deep ROS2 experience and the judgment to know when not to use it

• Track record building and operating CI/CD for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop

• Experience taking software through formal release, packaging, and deployment to end users

Where you probably come from:

Senior IC at robotics companies that shipped, defense robotics groups, autonomy at automotive, or aerospace robotics programs that put software in front of operators.

We want to talk if:

You’ve taken software from "works on the dev's machine" to "works in the field for a customer." You know the difference between a prototype that demos and a release that survives.

Not a fit if:

You're a researcher who hasn't shipped, you're a people-manager without recent IC chops, or your robotics experience is benchmark-only.

Nice to Haves:

• Real-time systems experience

• Sensor fusion or perception background

• Defense or safety-critical software release experience

• Built CI/CD for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop systems before

Education:

BS, MS, or PhD in CS, Robotics, EE, or equivalent. Track record matters more than degree.

How You Operate:

• Extreme bias for action. You ship working code on real hardware, not slideware

• You debug from first principles, not intuition alone

• Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration in a startup environment

• Clear communicator across software, hardware, and operator-facing surfaces

• Self directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told

Why Join Aurelius Systems:

• Build more in 1 month than most engineers build in 1 year. We field test weekly. Your work goes downrange, not into a filing cabinet.

• Career velocity is real. At ~10 engineers, there are no layers between you and impact.

• Work on a problem that actually matters. Small cheap drones are changing warfare. Our laser systems are the asymmetric answer - infinite magazine, near zero cost per shot, scalable to every base, border, facility, and truck.

• Join the densest defense startup ecosystem in the country. California is where the next generation of defense companies are being built.

How We Work:

Core hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 6. When we're sprinting toward a demo or field test, the team ramps up - nights, weekends, whatever it takes to ship. When the sprint lands, we ramp down. We don't manufacture intensity for show.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary and equity

• United Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverage

• Flexible 18 days PTO plus 5 sick days

• Travel to field test events and range days

• Covered daily lunches and office snacks and drinks

• E-bike and scooter stipend up to $500

• Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your work

Export Control Notice:

This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require U.S. Person status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a U.S. Person: (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).