Autonomy Software Engineer

Autonomy Software EngineerAlameda, CA (Hybrid)Up to $300K + EquityUS Citizen / GreenCard onlyMy client is Series D maritime defense company backed by over $325m in funding from top tier investors with a relentless passion for performance. Built to operate in the world’s harshest environments, their autonomous systems deliver payload effects and persistent, wide-area intelligence, enabling informed decisions across the spectrum of defense missions.Harnessing AI, advanced sensor suites, and renewable power for unmatched endurance at sea, the company delivers superior multi-domain impact—from power projection to persistent ISR to real-time threat detection and tracking—while reducing cost and risk. With proven operational success across the world’s oceans, they is advancing the frontier of autonomous maritime operations to give decision-makers and warfighters the enduring advantage to outpace adversaries today and build tomorrow’s most decisive capabilities.What we're looking for:We need a software engineer with 5+ years of experience in autonomous systems or robotics who has strong C++ skills and hands-on experience developing autonomy software that runs on real vehicles. You should be comfortable working across the autonomy stack — perception, localization, planning, decision-making, and vehicle behavior — and have a track record of shipping production-quality algorithms on physical hardware. Bonus points if you've worked in autonomous driving, aerospace, defense, or maritime systems.What you'll do:Design, implement, and deploy production autonomy software in C++ that runs onboard our autonomous maritime vehiclesDevelop and integrate algorithms for autonomous perception, localization, planning, navigation, decision-making, and collision/terrain avoidanceContribute to sensor fusion work — integrating radar, camera, and other sensor modalities into a unified data stream for situational awareness and path planningBuild and maintain local and global planners that consume map data and sensor data to determine optimal routes and vehicle behaviorEvaluate algorithmic approaches and make practical tradeoffs among accuracy, robustness, computational cost, latency, and reliability on constrained onboard compute (Nvidia Jetson)Use simulation, testing, telemetry, and real-world vehicle data to validate autonomous behavior and diagnose failures — including building your own tooling (often in Python) to accelerate the development cycleContribute to the architecture and evolution of our next-generation autonomy stack as part of a multi-year roadmap to expand autonomous capabilitiesTech stackC++, Python, Nvidia Jetson, ROS, Sensor Fusion, Simulation, Linux, GPU Computing, Computer Vision, Motion PlanningRequirementsExperience developing software that runs onboard physical hardware systems, operating at the boundary of software and hardwareDeep expertise in C++ and autonomy algorithms for vehicle control systems (perception, localization, state estimation, planning, navigation, controls, decision- making, vehicle behavior)US Personhood (US citizen or Green Card holder), ITAR eligible5+ years of experience as an autonomy engineer or robotics software engineerExperience in robotics, autonomous systems, aerospace, or defense technologyExperience with embedded systems, testing and deploying software on bare metal, robot operating systems, or sensor integration; deep understanding of computer vision, sensor fusion, localization, tracking trajectories, and handling uncertainty or noiseAptitude for troubleshooting and debuggingNice-to-haveExperience at autonomy or hard vehicle software companies (Waymo, Zoox, Zipline, Anduril, Shield, Argo AI)Experience with real- time operating systems (RTOS), minimal Linux distributions, or power battery managementWhy candidates should joinBuild the Brain of Real Autonomous Vessels Operating Globally Right Now: This isn't a simulation-only gig. ~100 active vessels deployed across the world's oceans today.Work Across the Full Autonomy Stack: You won't be siloed into one narrow function. You'll touch perception, localization, planning, sensor fusion, and vehicle behavior. The team is lean (~35 software engineers) so you'll have outsized ownership and influence over the architecture of our next-generation autonomy stack.Solve Novel Problems in a Unique Domain: Maritime autonomy is fundamentally different from land-based self-driving. Ocean perception, terrain avoidance, radar/camera sensor fusion at sea, and long-duration missions in harsh environments create engineering challenges you won't find anywhere else. If you're bored solving the same AV problems everyone else is solving, this is a fresh frontier.Mission That Matters: Our autonomous systems support national security, border protection, anti-trafficking operations, and illegal fishing prevention. You're building technology deployed by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard and international partners like Denmark. This is real-world defense impact — not a pitch deck.Strong Backing and Growth Trajectory: We raised ~$300M including a recent $50M corporate round from Lockheed Martin. The company is expanding both domestically and internationally with growing defense partnerships. The software team is scaling aggressively — Ron (VP of Software, ex-Tesla) is building out the team and you'd be joining at a pivotal moment.Beautiful Waterfront HQ + Hybrid Flexibility: The office sits right on the water in Alameda, CA. You can literally watch vessels launch into the lagoon from your desk. The schedule is hybrid — 3 days in office, 2 days remote. And you'll see the full lifecycle: composites manufacturing, final assembly, software deployment, and vessels hitting the water all happen on-site.