Drones team and operations
All opportunitiesDigital & Research / AD-DR-2086

Autonomy Software Lead

WashingtonFull timeDronesHybrid

Lead the software architecture behind supervised autonomy, mission planning, and dependable field operations.

The Autonomy Software Lead owns technical direction for flight autonomy and mission software used across inspection and aerial-intelligence programs. The role balances research ambition with testability, operator oversight, and field reliability.

Your team

You will lead a compact software group and work closely with flight-test, sensor, safety, product, and field-operations teams across the drones business.

Role profile

What you will shape.

What you will do

01
  • Set architecture and engineering standards for autonomy and mission software.
  • Guide simulation, hardware-in-the-loop testing, and flight-test readiness.
  • Translate operational scenarios into safe system behavior and operator controls.
  • Coach engineers and coordinate technical delivery across partner teams.

What you will bring

02
  • Substantial experience delivering robotics, autonomy, or safety-critical software.
  • Strong knowledge of modern software architecture, testing, and observability.
  • Experience leading technical decisions across multidisciplinary teams.
  • Ability to explain complex behavior to operators and non-software stakeholders.

Useful additional experience

03
  • Uncrewed-aircraft or flight-control software experience.
  • Experience with simulation, perception, or edge-computing systems.
  • Familiarity with assurance methods for autonomous systems.
Hiring process

Know what comes next.

01

Application review

Talent and hiring teams assess your experience against the role.

02

Introductory conversation

A focused conversation covers motivation, availability, and role context.

03

Team assessment

Technical and collaborative discussions explore how you approach the work.

04

Decision and offer

Final candidates receive a clear scope, package, location, and onboarding plan.

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