Staff Robotics Software Engineer - Mission Autonomy

Anduril Industries, Inc.; Costa Mesa (CA); Hybrid; USD 253,000 - 336,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity grants

Comprehensive benefits

Competitive salary

Job summary

Anduril Industries, Inc. is seeking a Staff Robotics Software Engineer to advance Our Thunder autonomous rotorcraft perception and planning capabilities. You will lead end-to-end architecture, validation, and deployment of sensing, perception, and decision-making components across autonomous platforms.

The role emphasizes hands-on leadership, collaboration with software, hardware, and systems teams, and delivering safe, reliable autonomous capabilities with ongoing performance improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in robotics, mechatronics, computer science or engineering.
• 7+ years of C++ and/or Python software development experience.
• Experience in senior perception or planning for robotic systems.

Responsibilities

• Own multi-year software roadmap across teams for vehicle autonomy.
• Lead architecture and implementation of perception and planning stacks.
• Develop and validate safe navigation, collision avoidance and awareness.
• Collaborate with software, mechanical and systems engineers for integration.
• Mentor junior engineers and engage with stakeholders on requirements.

Skills

C++

Python

Autonomous systems

Computer vision

Sensor fusion

SLAM

Motion planning

Mentoring

Security clearance

Education

Bachelor's degree in Robotics/Mechatronics/CS/Engineering

Tools

Gazebo

Unity

Unreal Engine

Job description

Staff Robotics Software Engineer - Mission Autonomy

Anduril Industries is a defense technology company with a mission to transform U.S. and allied military capabilities with advanced technology. By bringing the expertise, technology, and business model of the 21st century’s most innovative companies to the defense industry, Anduril is changing how military systems are designed, built and sold. Anduril’s family of systems is powered by Lattice OS, an AI-powered operating system that turns thousands of data streams into a realtime, 3D command and control center. As the world enters an era of strategic competition, Anduril is committed to bringing cutting-edge autonomy, AI, computer vision, sensor fusion, and networking technology to the military in months, not years.

ABOUT THE TEAM

The Maneuver Dominance team is building Thunder - an autonomous attack rotorcraft built to fight alongside crewed combat aviation to deliver overwhelming mass effects deep beyond the front lines.

Autonomy is only as good as the link that carries it. Thunder is a compact airframe with weapons, sensors and radios competing for the same antenna real estate, flying low and in formation, in a spectrum that is actively contested. That is the problem you would own.

ABOUT THE JOB

Staff Robotics Engineers lead the delivery of vehicle perception and planning capability integrated in to our products, acting as technical leads, extremely senior individual contributors, and/or as team leads that are also hands-on contributors. This includes systems analysis, sensor selection and integration, perception architecture and implementation, motion planning, health management, behaviour analysis, simulation and test infrastructure, and interfaces with lower- and higher-level systems. We expect Staff Robotics Engineers to demonstrate unparalleled end-to-end outcome ownership, driving the rapid architecting, design, delivery, support, and evolution of safe and effective vehicle autonomy on Anduril’s autonomous platforms through their entire product life-cycle.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Own customer success through the design and delivery of a multi-year, multi-stakeholder software roadmap that spans across multiple teams
• Leverage internal product and program-specific engineering teams to rapidly deliver capability beyond the scope of current platforms, with a clear path for both architecture and capability evolution over time
• Partner with external teams, collaborating on interfacing requirements between diverse systems and technologies
• Lead teams that architect, design and implement trusted safe navigation, collision avoidance, and situational awareness systems that balance constraints, restrictions and requirements in a multi-stakeholder environment
• Drive the development and implementation of sensor suites, perception algorithms, planning algorithms, and test fixtures to deliver safe navigation and effective operation of Anduril’s autonomous vehicles
• Perform high-impact IC work in architecture and implementation across the whole perception and planning stack
• Utilize advanced techniques in computer vision, sensor fusion, and machine learning to enhance perception and planning capabilities of Anduril vehicles
• Conduct thorough testing and validation of perception and planning algorithms through development and use of simulation and analysis of data from real-world experiments, including evolving the data analysis tooling.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including software engineers, mechanical engineers, and systems engineers, to ensure effective system integration and testing
• Travel to co-locate with end-users and/or other teams up to 20% of the time

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's degree in Robotics, Mechatronics, Computer Science, Engineering, a relevant field, or equivalent experience
• 7+ years of experience in C++ and/or Python software development.
• Familiarity with autonomous vehicle hardware and sensors such as radar, sonar, LIDAR, and cameras
• Demonstrated knowledge of at least one of: computer vision, sensor fusion, SLAM, motion planning, machine learning
• Experience in a senior perception or planning role for the delivery of a robotic system
• Capacity to act as the technical owner for a system, including stakeholder engagement, requirements definition, roadmap management, team co-ordination, design, implementation, sustainment and evolution
• Ability to collaborate with stakeholders to define and implement robust validation and verification strategies for perception and planning modules
• Capacity to learn and grow individually, while mentoring junior team members effectively, building team cohesion and capacity
• Eligible to obtain and maintain an active U.S. Secret security clearance

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Experience with autonomous systems in the ground, air, maritime or space domains
• Experience with simulation tools and frameworks, such as Gazebo, Unity, or Unreal Engine, for algorithm validation and testing
• Knowledge of safety standards and certification processes for autonomous systems
• Familiarity with System Engineering concepts

US Salary Range

$253,000 - $336,000 USD

The salary range for this role is an estimate based on a wide range of compensation factors, inclusive of base salary only. Actual salary offer may vary based on (but not limited to) work experience, education and/or training, critical skills, and/or business considerations.

Highly competitive equity grants are included in the majority of full time offers; and are considered part of Anduril’s total compensation package.

Additionally, Anduril offers top-tier benefits for full-time employees, including:

At Anduril, we invest in our people. Our comprehensive, competitive benefits package (available at little to no cost to employees) ensures you’re supported in health, recovery, and whatever comes next. For more information, Explore Our Benefits .

As set forth in Anduril Industries’s Equal Employment Opportunity policy,we do not discriminate on the basis of any protected group status under any applicable law.