Software Engineer, Robotics

Role Summary

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.

We're looking for Software Engineers, Robotics to build the components that make up the autonomy stack for the largest drone swarm in the world. You'll work across the stack, from vehicle software and sensor integration to planning behaviors and simulation, building the pieces that turn architecture into flying capability.

Responsibilities

• Build components across the autonomy stack: planning behaviors, vehicle software, sensor and payload integration, and simulation.
• Build the core on-vehicle software platform to allow integration of a variety of first and third-party sensors, payloads, and software modules.
• Create and validate physically realistic simulations of UxS.
• Perform electronics prototyping including troubleshooting complex mixed hardware-software systems.
• Write clean, maintainable, and efficient code.
• Travel up to 25% of the time for onsite test and integration events.

Requirements

• 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.

Benefits

• 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