Role Overview
We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to design, develop, integrate, and maintain secure mission-computing software for advanced autonomous and unmanned platforms.
This is a hands-on engineering role spanning autonomy software, embedded Linux, Qualcomm SoC development, flight-controller integration, ROS2 middleware, AI/ML acceleration, cybersecurity, and system integration.
The successful candidate will work across mission computers, flight controllers, sensors, and ground systems to deliver reliable, secure, real-time software from platform bring-up through integration, validation, and production deployment.
Key Responsibilities
Autonomy Software Development
- Design and implement autonomous applications on Qualcomm-based mission-computing platforms, supporting perception, sensor fusion, planning, and navigation.
- Develop and integrate ROS2 nodes, services, and middleware for scalable and modular autonomy architectures.
- Optimize GPU, DSP, NPU, and AI-accelerated workloads for real-time inference, multi-sensor fusion, and deterministic processing under SWaP constraints.
- Integrate autonomy software with PX4-based flight-control platforms and other embedded systems.
Qualcomm SoC & Platform Engineering
- Support Qualcomm SoC platform bring-up, including BSP integration, Linux/Yocto, peripheral enablement, driver integration, and platform debugging.
- Implement and validate secure boot processes including boot-chain validation, trusted firmware stages, secure bootloader handoff, image authentication, and production boot locking.
- Work with platform security features including hardware root of trust, TEE, key provisioning, device identity, encrypted storage, anti-rollback protection, and secure debug control.
- Support production provisioning including fuse programming, root-of-trust provisioning, lifecycle-state transitions, OEM locking, secure factory flashing, and manufacturing controls.
- Troubleshoot issues across boot, encryption, provisioning, OTA updates, and manufacturing test workflows.
System Integration & Middleware
- Implement secure communication between mission computers, autonomy software, flight controllers, sensors, and ground systems.
- Develop APIs and middleware for efficient exchange of mission-critical data.
- Work with ROS2, XRCE-DDS, DDS, MAVLink, and related communication technologies.
- Integrate multiple sensor types including cameras, LiDAR, GNSS, and IMUs.
- Support integration with NXP/PX4-based flight controllers and Qualcomm-based compute platforms.
- Work closely with hardware, software, systems, security, manufacturing, and test teams during end-to-end integration.
Security & Reliability
- Develop end-to-end embedded security covering secure boot, hardware root of trust, chain-of-trust provisioning, encrypted communications, sandboxing, and access control.
- Implement identity and access management for mission-software deployments.
- Conduct threat modelling, vulnerability assessments, and attack-surface analysis.
- Assess security across communication interfaces including RF, GNSS, MAVLink/DDS, compute nodes, and sensor interfaces.
- Apply secure coding and cybersecurity practices aligned with standards such as ISO 27001 and DO-326A.
- Support secure OTA and production security workflows.
Engineering & DevOps
- Implement telemetry, logging, diagnostics, and real-time system monitoring.
- Define and follow SDLC, coding, documentation, and software-quality standards.
- Use Git, CI/CD pipelines, Docker, Kubernetes, automated testing, and release-management workflows.
- Support automated testing and validation across integrated hardware/software environments.
- Track engineering KPIs such as test coverage, deployment cycle time, system uptime, software quality, and security issues.
Experience
- 8+ years of experience in robotics, autonomous systems, embedded platforms, mission computing, or safety-critical software development.
- Experience developing complex software for aerospace, robotics, autonomous vehicles, UAVs, or comparable real-time systems.
- Strong hands-on experience with Qualcomm-based embedded or mission-computing platforms.
- Experience taking embedded or autonomous systems through development, platform bring-up, integration, validation, and production deployment.
Technical Skills
- Strong experience with real-time embedded systems.
- Python for automation, AI/ML workflows, testing, tooling, and data pipelines.
- Strong experience with ROS2, XRCE-DDS, DDS, MAVLink, and modular autonomy architectures.
- Hands-on experience with Qualcomm SoCs and mission-computing platforms.
- Experience with BSP development/integration, Linux, Yocto, boot chains, device drivers, peripheral enablement, and platform debugging.
- Understanding of PX4 flight controllers, MAVLink communication, telemetry, command/control, and mission-computer integration.
- Experience with GPU, DSP, NPU, or AI accelerator workloads for real-time inference and sensor fusion.
- Experience integrating camera, LiDAR, GNSS, IMU, and other embedded sensors.
- Strong understanding of secure boot, hardware root of trust, TEE, key provisioning, device identity, encrypted storage, anti-rollback, and secure debug.
- Experience with fuse programming/burning, root-of-trust provisioning, factory flashing, lifecycle management, and secure manufacturing procedures.
- Embedded cybersecurity experience covering encrypted communications, sandboxing, access control, threat modelling, secure OTA, and secure coding.
- Experience with Git, CI/CD, Docker, Kubernetes, and automated testing.
- Familiarity with ISO 27001 and DO-326A.
- Strong debugging and cross-functional hardware/software integration capabilities.
Education & Additional Experience
- Minimum BSc in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Computer Engineering, or a related discipline.
- MSc preferred.
- Familiarity with TypeScript/JavaScript for control interfaces and engineering dashboards is advantageous.
- Experience integrating complex systems across multiple engineering teams or organisations is highly desirable.
