Software Engineer, Robotics

Swarm Aero is redefining air power, building the largest swarming UAV and the most versatile swarming aircraft network in the world. The company is moving quickly to launch the first aircraft designed specifically for swarming, as well as the Command & Control software to mobilize swarms of thousands of heterogeneous autonomous assets and empower human operators to achieve superhuman results.

The team has created and exited multiple startups, negotiated defense deals worth billions of dollars, and designed and built 30+ novel aircraft, with aerospace experience from Scaled Composites, Airbus, Archer Aviation, Blue Origin, and Boom Supersonic.

About the Role

Our autonomy software runs on real programs and real hardware today, and we built it to be platform-agnostic from the start. We're now scaling it onto our own aircraft to field the largest drone swarm in the world. We're looking for Software Engineers, Robotics to build and harden the on-vehicle systems that get us there.

You'll work across the stack: vehicle software, sensor and payload integration, planning behaviors, and simulation. This is the work that decides whether capability survives contact with real hardware in the field.

What You'll Do

• Build and extend components across our autonomy stack: planning behaviors, vehicle software, sensor and payload integration, and simulation.

• Grow the on-vehicle software platform into a real integration surface for first and third-party sensors, payloads, and software modules, so new capability drops in instead of getting rebuilt each time.

• Create and validate physically realistic simulations of UxS, and keep sim honest against what we actually see in flight and field test.

• Prototype electronics and troubleshoot complex mixed hardware-software systems, including the failures that only show up on real vehicles.

• Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or related technical field.

• 3+ years building soft-realtime embedded systems or robotics software.

• Deep expertise in at least one systems language (C/C++, Rust, or Go).

• Hands-on experience implementing robotics algorithms (path planning, state estimation, behavior trees, etc.).

• Working knowledge of embedded systems (SPI/I2C/serial protocols, logic analyzers, oscilloscopes, microcontroller programming).

• Strong networking fundamentals (NAT, mDNS, UDP/TCP, multicast, firewall configuration).

• Excellent software engineering practices with emphasis on testable, reliable code.

Preferred Qualifications

• Contributions to deployed robotics or IoT systems requiring complex edge processing (aerospace, autonomous vehicles, etc.).

• Experience with robotics middleware (DDS/ROS2, ZeroMQ, gRPC) and serialization formats (Protobuf).

• Hands-on electronics skills (breadboarding, soldering, schematic interpretation, datasheet analysis).

• Familiarity with government UxS interoperability standards (OMS/UCI, STANAG 4586, FACE).

ITAR requirement

To conform to U.S. Government export regulations, applicant must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State.

Swarm Aero is an equal opportunity employer. We value diverse backgrounds and experiences and make employment decisions without regard to race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, or disability.

What We Offer

• Meaningful equity in a high-growth defense technology company

• Competitive base salary commensurate with experience

• Medical, dental, vision, and 401k

• PTO and paid sick leave

• Monthly wellness stipend

• Daily catered lunch (office)

• Paid parental leave

• Direct impact on a critical national security mission

• A world-class team of engineers and operators solving genuinely hard problems