Sr. Robotics Software Engineer
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 are a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. We are building the first cost-effective, reliable, and robust laser weapon system. Our namesake, Marcus Aurelius, wrote about doing the work in front of you, every day, without excuses. Henry Ford didn't wait for permission to reinvent manufacturing. That's how we operate: a small team, unreasonable output, 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 Senior Robotics Software Engineer who is a true workhorse on the Archimedes robotics stack. You will be writing production code across perception, control, and autonomy, and raising the bar on how we ship. You'll work directly alongside our Lead Software Engineer and our Principal Robotics SWE, contributing meaningfully to the stack while championing the QA and CI/CD practices that keep fielded software reliable. You are the senior IC who writes the code, then makes sure it survives contact with the field.
Requirements
- 5+ years of robotics software engineering with real shipped systems behind you
- Strong hands-on development chops. You're a builder first, and you write production code that runs on real hardware
- ROS2 experience and the judgment to know when not to use it
- Experience building or operating CI/CD for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop systems
- A genuine ownership mentality toward quality. You've seen what bad test discipline costs in the field and you fix it without being asked
- 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
- This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require "U.S. Person" status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a "U.S. Person": (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).
Nice To Haves
- Real-time systems experience
- Sensor fusion or perception background
- Defense or safety-critical software release experience
- Built test automation frameworks for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop systems before
Responsibilities
- Hands-on development across the robotics software stack from perception, control, and autonomy
- Championing QA practices and test coverage, embedding quality into how the team works rather than bolting it on
- CI/CD infrastructure and deployment hygiene for robotics and hardware-in-the-loop
- Writing and maintaining the automated tests and tooling that catch failures before the range does
- Code review and raising the quality bar across the robotics SWE team
- Cross-functional work across perception, controls, embedded, and EE
Benefits
- Competitive salary + equity
- United Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Flexible 18 days PTO + 5 sick days
- Travel to field test events and range days
- Covered daily lunches and office snacks + drinks
- E-bike / scooter stipend (Up to $500)
- Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your work
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
