Principal, Robotics Software Engineer

Aurelius Systems • San Francisco, CA

2d • Hybrid

About The Position

Aurelius Systems is a VC-backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge-deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones. We're a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. The first cost-effective, reliable, and robust laser weapon system. We operate with a small team, unreasonable output, and no hiding behind the unachievable. In addition to our San Francisco lab, we’ve opened a Detroit manufacturing hub and we field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range. We need a Principal, Robotics Software Engineer to lead architecture across the robotics stack on Archimedes — perception, control, autonomy, and the infrastructure that lets us ship. You'll partner directly with our CTO and own the path from prototype code to deployed software. You're the senior IC who's done this at scale and knows how to take a research-y stack into a deployable product without breaking it.

Requirements

• 10+ years of robotics software engineering with real shipped systems behind you
• Senior IC track record at robotics companies that actually shipped to customers or operators
• Deep ROS2 experience and the judgment to know when not to use it
• Track record building and operating CI/CD for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop
• Experience taking software through formal release, packaging, and deployment to end users
• You've taken software from "works on the dev's machine" to "works in the field for a customer."
• You know the difference between a prototype that demos and a release that survives.
• Extreme bias for action. You ship working code on real hardware, not slideware
• You debug from first principles, not intuition alone
• Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration in a startup environment
• Clear communicator across software, hardware, and operator-facing surfaces
• Self directed. You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told
• U.S. Person status is required due to access to export-controlled information.

Nice To Haves

• Real-time systems experience
• Sensor fusion or perception background
• Defense or safety-critical software release experience
• Built CI/CD for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop systems before

Responsibilities

• Architecture and technical direction for the robotics software stack
• Formal release process, packaging, and deployment hygiene for fielded systems
• CI/CD infrastructure and software org scaling alongside QA
• Mentorship of robotics SWE team and setting the bar for code quality
• Cross-functional alignment across perception, controls, embedded, and EE
• Owning the path from prototype code to fielded software in customer hands

Benefits

• Competitive salary and equity
• United Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Flexible 18 days PTO plus 5 sick days
• Travel to field test events and range days
• Covered daily lunches and office snacks and drinks
• E-bike and scooter stipend up to $500
• Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your work

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Education Level: Associate degree