Embedded Software Engineer (Drone Stack)

Applied Intuition, Inc. is powering the future of physical AI. Founded in 2017 and now valued at $15 billion, the Silicon Valley company is creating the digital infrastructure needed to bring intelligence to every moving machine on the planet. Applied Intuition services the automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining and agriculture industries in three core areas: tools and infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy. Eighteen of the top 20 global automakers, as well as the United States military and its allies, trust the company’s solutions to deliver physical intelligence. Applied Intuition is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices in Washington, D.C.; San Diego; Ft. Walton Beach, Florida; Ann Arbor, Michigan; London; Stuttgart; Munich; Stockholm; Bangalore; Seoul; and Tokyo. Learn more at applied.co .

We are an in-office company, and our expectation is that full-time employees primarily work from their Applied Intuition office 5 days a week. However, we also recognize the importance of flexibility and trust our employees to manage their schedules responsibly. This may include occasional remote work, starting the day with morning meetings from home before heading to the office, or leaving earlier when needed to accommodate family commitments. This in-office expectation does not apply to contractor positions

About the role

Applied Intuition is looking for a Software Engineer (Drone Stack Team) to architect and field advanced autonomy and vehicle intelligence systems that bridge hardware and software. In this role, you'll bring autonomy stacks to life on real vehicle platforms, standing up integrations, running SIL and HIL evaluations, and supporting live testing in the field. Strong fundamentals in computer networking and code integration, along with genuine enthusiasm for hands-on robotics work, are essential. You'll partner with teams across the company to ship dependable, scalable capabilities to both defense and commercial customers, owning everything from end-to-end hardware-software integration to troubleshooting and customer-facing demos.

At Applied Intuition, you will:

• Build and tailor modular, rapidly adaptable autonomy capabilities for a wide range of defense missions, fielding them on embedded Linux and other compute platforms while interfacing with onboard sensors and capturing data

• Work alongside autonomy engineers to marry autonomy software with vehicle hardware — achieving full integration with aircraft autopilots, datalinks, sensor payloads, PNT/GPS/INS, and ground control stations — and to build service-oriented-architecture software and inter-process messaging frameworks for autonomous UAS

• Perform system-level bring-up, test, and validation spanning software-in-the-loop (SIL) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) evaluation, and participate in live flight testing across Group 1–5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)

• Diagnose and resolve challenging software and integration problems to keep systems performant and dependable

• Engage directly with DoD warfighter domain experts and partner with third-party UAS vendors to bring Applied's autonomy software onto OEM aircraft hardware

We're looking for someone who has:

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Robotics, Computer Science, or a related engineering discipline

• 3+ years of hands-on robotics experience spanning hardware, software, and systems integration

• Proficiency in a modern programming language (modern C++ is required), with development experience in Docker, containerized deployments, and Linux distributions such as Ubuntu or RHEL, and comfort with everyday tooling like git, GitLab, and Visual Studio Code

• Hands-on integration of robotics or autonomy products with Pixhawk-family autopilots (ArduPilot and/or PX4), plus working knowledge of common communication buses and protocols: UART/RS232/RS422/RS485, SPI/QSPI, I2C, and Ethernet

• Exposure to real-time, edge, and safety-critical computing in SIL, HIL, test, and operational settings, paired with strong communication skills and a customer-first approach to project delivery

• Ability to travel for on-site integrations and demos (roughly 10–20%); U.S. citizenship and eligibility to obtain and hold a U.S. security clearance required

Nice to have:

• Modern C++ standards (C++11/17/20), plus Bash and CMake

• An FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate

• Familiarity with Agile workflows and CI/CD pipelines

• Hands-on work with COTS compute hardware like NVIDIA Jetson or Raspberry Pi

• An active U.S. SECRET clearance

Compensation at Applied Intuition for eligible roles includes base salary, equity, and benefits. Base salary is a single component of the total compensation package, which may also include equity in the form of options and/or restricted stock units, comprehensive health, dental, vision, life and disability insurance coverage, 401k retirement benefits with employer match, learning and wellness stipends, and paid time off. Note that benefits are subject to change and may vary based on jurisdiction of employment.

Applied Intuition pay ranges reflect the minimum and maximum intended target base salary for new hire salaries for the position. The actual base salary offered to a successful candidate will additionally be influenced by a variety of factors including experience, credentials & certifications, educational attainment, skill level requirements, interview performance, and the level and scope of the position.

Don’t meet every single requirement? If you’re excited about this role but your past experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.