Autonomy Software Engineer

About the role

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors https://www.skydio.com/solutions/energy-and-utilities to first responders https://www.skydio.com/solutions/public-safety, soldiers in battlefield scenarios https://www.skydio.com/solutions/national-security/tactical-isr, and beyond https://www.skydio.com/solutions.

About the role:

As an Autonomy Engineer, your primary goal will be to make our autonomy system more capable and more reliable for all of our customers. You will own developing new autonomous capabilities end-to-end and deploying these capabilities to customers tackling a wide range of use cases, including inspection & mapping, drone-as-first-responder (DFR), security/patrols, situational awareness, and more. These represent some of the first real-world deployments of truly autonomous robots performing valuable tasks in large and critical industries.

How you'll make an impact:

- Build cutting-edge autonomous capabilities through tight cross functional collaboration with our vision, planning & controls, deep learning, infrastructure, embedded, cloud, mobile, design, product, and flight test teams

- Develop core robotics algorithms to expand our autonomous operational envelope in challenging environmental conditions, including night time, in urban canyons, in areas of GNSS and C2 interference, at sea, and in precipitation

- Triage customer issues, recognize trends, and rapidly make our system more resilient to failures seen in the field

- Research investments in simulated and in-real-life test infrastructure

- Develop a deep understanding of core robotics principles coupled with a full understanding of how our system works

- Help out across the full software stack when needed, maintaining the highest standards for code quality and proactively addressing tech debt

- Conceive, design, implement, simulate, evaluate, and fly new motion planning strategies to extend capabilities and improve customer experience

What makes you a good fit:

- 1+ years of experience writing production level code for autonomous robots, preferably flying robots with a high level of proficiency in C++ and Python

- Practical experience implementing state of the art algorithms in a robotics-adjacent area including computer vision, state estimation, motion planning, controls, sensor characterization and integration, UAS software and hardware development

- Highly curious, creative, and able to communicate concepts to non-technical audiences

- Strong software engineering fundamentals and a commitment to writing clean, well-designed, maintainable, readable code