Senior Autonomy Software Engineer

Hermeus•Los Angeles, CA

13h

About The Position

Hermeus is a venture-backed defense aviation company focused on rapid iterative prototyping to build the fastest aircraft in the world. They work with the Department of War to provide high-speed capabilities. This role involves developing flight autonomy capabilities for Hermeus’ supersonic vehicle fleet, encompassing guidance and control, mission autonomy, and navigation. The engineer will collaborate with RPA pilots, GNC engineers, software platform engineers, simulation engineers, and command-and-control teams. It's a hands-on position for an engineer comfortable owning cross-functional problems from design through integration and flight testing, directly influencing aircraft navigation, mission execution, operator interaction, and autonomy levels. The ideal candidate has strong modern C++ skills, experience in autonomous or unmanned systems, and a practical understanding of guidance, controls, and navigation.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Robotics, or a related technical field
Strong proficiency with modern C++, including experience developing production-quality software
Strong general software-engineering fundamentals, including software architecture, debugging, testing, and performance-conscious development
Experience developing software for unmanned aircraft, autonomous vehicles, robotics, spacecraft, or other autonomous systems
Experience with guidance and control algorithms, control loops, trajectory generation, or vehicle guidance software
Experience developing or integrating flight or mission-autonomy capabilities
Experience developing or integrating navigation systems, sensors, or state-estimation solutions
Ability to work effectively across software, GNC, simulation, systems, operations, and other engineering disciplines
Demonstrated ability to independently identify technical problems and drive them through resolution
Experience integrating complex software capabilities into larger vehicle or robotic-system architectures

Nice To Haves

Experience developing autonomy software for unmanned aerial systems or remotely piloted aircraft
Experience with flight guidance, path planning, trajectory generation, control allocation, or vehicle control
Experience with GNSS, INS, IMUs, air-data systems, sensor fusion, or other navigation technologies
Experience integrating autonomy software with command-and-control systems
Familiarity with over-the-air communications, vehicle-to-ground protocols, telemetry, and command interfaces
Experience with mission planning, contingency management, health monitoring, or autonomous decision-making
Experience with Linux-based embedded or real-time software systems
Experience with simulation, SIL, HIL, system-integration labs, ground testing, or flight testing
Experience collaborating directly with pilots, operators, or flight-test teams
Aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous vehicle, or spacecraft experience
Experience working in a startup, rapid-prototyping, or highly iterative development environment

Responsibilities

Develop modern C++ software for flight autonomy, guidance, navigation, and control
Design and implement mission-autonomy behaviors and vehicle decision-making capabilities
Develop and integrate guidance and control loops for unmanned aircraft
Support the integration, evaluation, and validation of navigation sensors and navigation solutions
Integrate autonomy capabilities into existing aircraft software architectures and command-and-control systems
Develop automated test suites, simulation scenarios, and utilities to verify autonomy performance and expected behavior
Work closely with GNC and simulation engineers to develop, test, and validate autonomy algorithms
Partner with RPA pilots and flight-operations teams to define and execute the autonomy roadmap
Integrate autonomy software with vehicle systems, communications links, ground systems, and operator interfaces
Diagnose and resolve complex problems spanning autonomy software, vehicle dynamics, navigation, simulation, and command-and-control interfaces
Participate in software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, ground-test, and flight-test activities
Own technical problems from initial investigation through implementation, integration, testing, and operational use
Drive solutions across multidisciplinary teams in environments where requirements and vehicle capabilities are rapidly evolving