Principal Software Engineer
AeroVironment, Inc.7 days ago
Simi Valley, CA, USAStaff+
Base Salary
$147k - $250k/yr
Responsibilities
- Develop software supporting vision-based navigation, autonomy, cooperative behaviors, and mission systems.
- Drive technical direction and architectural decisions across the Kinesis software ecosystem.
- Design, implement, and integrate systems in C++ and Kotlin.
- Develop cross-platform applications for Android, Linux, and Windows to control robotic platforms.
- Design SDK interfaces and APIs for internal, external, and third-party integration.
- Serve as a technical lead for customer programs and engage directly with technical and non-technical customers.
- Perform hands-on field testing with robots and support algorithm design from software requirements.
- Mentor less experienced engineers and provide technical guidance to small engineering teams.
- Occasionally travel for customer, testing, or other company events.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Math, or Physics, or an equivalent combination of education, training, and experience with 12+ years of relevant experience.
- Strong fluency in modern C++, maintainable software architecture, and modular system design.
- Experience evaluating product design tradeoffs and translating them into clear system requirements.
- Hands-on knowledge of CMake or similar build systems.
- Experience developing software for mechatronic or hardware-integrated systems.
- Knowledge of computer networking topologies, protocols, and principles.
- Familiarity with safety-critical software concepts, including determinism and real-time systems.
- Experience tasking and mentoring small engineering teams.
- Ability to obtain a U.S. DoD Secret clearance if required.
- Advanced degree, UAS, drone, robotics, autonomous vehicle, embedded systems, Android/Linux application development, Docker, CI/CD pipelines, FastDDS, gRPC, MQTT, and third-party API/SDK delivery experience are preferred.
- Must be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, asylee/refugee, or otherwise qualify under applicable ITAR/EAR requirements; some positions require current U.S. citizenship.
- Willingness to travel occasionally and ability to work in an office environment are required.
Benefits
- Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
- 401(k) with company matching.
- 9/80 work schedule.
- Paid holiday shutdown.
- Occasional travel within the continental United States.
- The position is subject to ITAR/EAR access requirements and may require export-license approval.
About AeroVironment, Inc.
AeroVironment builds small unmanned aircraft systems, loitering munitions (e.g., Switchblade), and related software, sensors, and services for U.S. and allied defense agencies. The public company (NASDAQ: AVAV), founded in 1971 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, sells hardware, training, and lifecycle support, with widely fielded systems such as Raven, Puma, and Wasp. It also offers autonomy and robotic technologies used in reconnaissance, targeting, and force protection missions.