True Talent Solutions Partners
Senior Software Engineer, Autonomous Systems
Senior backend engineer building cloud and edge software for command and control of autonomous systems — real-time sensor processing, state estimation, threat detection, and LLM/AI-assisted decision support for robotic platforms. Hybrid in Palo Alto; requires US citizenship and security clearance eligibility.
- Compensation
- $145K–$275K / yr
- Location
- Palo Alto
- Work setup
- Onsite
- Seniority
- Senior
- Employment
- Full time
- Experience
- Not specified
- Category
- Software engineering
- Posted
Skills
Must have
- 4-10 years of backend or service-layer software engineering experience with recent hands-on IC work
- Experience owning core backend services (microservices, APIs, middleware) and real-time messaging between live external services
- Proficiency in Rust, Python, C++, or Java
- Degree in computer science or a related technical field
- Professional experience in autonomy (autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics, or factory automation) with shipped software beyond algorithms, simulation, or ML research
- Experience delivering software in a fast-moving prototype-to-field environment
- US work authorization, US citizenship, and eligibility to obtain a security clearance; visa sponsorship not available
Nice to have
- Familiarity with LLM integrations, AI agents, or toolchains
Full description
About the Role
Join a customer-facing product engineering team building cloud and edge software for command and control of autonomous systems. Your work will connect sensors, robotic platforms, and AI-assisted decision-making to support demanding operational missions.
What You'll Do
- Design, build, and optimize backend and service-layer software for mission-critical autonomous systems.
- Develop real-time data processing for heterogeneous sensors, including state estimation and threat detection.
- Build LLM- and AI-enabled systems that assess situations and support timely operational decisions.
- Integrate sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms, including individual vehicles and coordinated groups.
- Engineer scalable, reliable, and fail-safe services for high-stakes environments.
- Work with robotics, hardware, sensing, and systems engineering teams to deliver integrated solutions.
What We're Looking For
- Four to ten years of backend or service-layer software engineering experience, with recent hands-on individual contributor work.
- Experience owning core backend services such as microservices, APIs, or middleware, and building real-time messaging between live external services.
- Proficiency in Rust, Python, C++, or Java, plus a degree in computer science or a related technical field.
- Professional experience in autonomy, such as autonomous vehicles, drones, robotics, or factory automation. Experience should include shipped software beyond algorithms, simulation, or ML research alone.
- Experience delivering software in a fast-moving prototype-to-field environment. Familiarity with LLM integrations, AI agents, or toolchains is useful.
- US work authorization, US citizenship, and eligibility to obtain a security clearance are required. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Compensation & Benefits
Base salary range: $145,000 to $275,000 USD annually. Visa sponsorship is not available.
Location
Hybrid role based in Palo Alto, California.