Onboard Software Engineer

Matternet•Mountain View, CA

About The Position

Matternet is building autonomous drone networks to deliver critical goods faster, cleaner, and at lower cost across healthcare, logistics, food, and retail. The Onboard Software Engineer develops software for aircraft and ground assets, working primarily in C++ on embedded Linux. The role builds and hardens safety-critical subsystems that enable autonomous Beyond-Visual-Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) missions across varied environments, including dense urban areas. The engineer owns features and subsystems end to end, takes them through simulation and flight testing, and works with senior engineers and cross-functional teams to validate and support them in the field. The role balances performance, safety, and reliability while delivering customer-facing capabilities and supporting deployment across production fleets.

Requirements

At least 3 years of production software engineering experience, including end-to-end ownership of features or subsystems.
Strong proficiency in C++ (C++11 and later), multithreading, and real-time messaging.
Solid Linux background and experience with cross-compiling.
Experience with Python, YAML, and other scripting tools.
Applied math skills in geometry, coordinate transforms, and kinematics for navigation and avoidance.
Experience implementing native software and validating it in simulation and on hardware.
Proficiency with version control and peer code review workflows, such as Git.
Clear technical communication and strong cross-disciplinary teamwork in a fast-paced environment.

Nice To Haves

UAV, autonomous robotics, aerospace, or other safety-critical regulated experience.
Experience using AI coding assistants to accelerate development.
Familiarity with an autopilot stack such as ArduPilot or PX4.
Experience with computer vision and perception (OpenCV or similar) and sensor integration.
Experience with Docker and containerized build, test, and development environments.
Experience with distributed systems, networking, and fleet management.
Relevant mechanical, aerospace, or electrical engineering experience.

Responsibilities

Develop and own onboard features and subsystems that enhance UAS capabilities and safety mitigations.
Build systems that enable aircraft to fly autonomously in demanding environments, including dense urban airspaces.
Deliver customer-facing features on flight and ground assets while balancing performance, safety, and reliability.
Verify and release software through simulation, flight testing, and deployment across production fleets.
Triage and resolve field and flight-test issues, driving fixes through to the fleet.
Collaborate with stakeholders in Engineering, Operations, Safety, and Production.