Autopilot Software Engineer

Autopilot Software Engineer- Permanent - Hampshire (Hybrid)

Role summary

We're hiring a full-time, permanent Autopilot Engineer based in Hampshire. The role is primarily on-site due to hardware and flight-test activity, with flexible hybrid working available.
You'll join an agile engineering team building safety-critical flight control software for an autopilot system, working from early requirements and feasibility through to on-site testing and real-world validation.

What you'll be doing

Contribute to requirements capture, plus concept and feasibility studies
Develop safety-critical flight control software to an exceptional reliability standard
Support the test ecosystem end-to-end: automated unit testing through to on-site flight testing
Maintain and (as required) fly the autopilot model aircraft test fleet
Support issue identification, fault-finding and debugging across software and integrated systems

What we're looking for (essential)

Professional embedded software engineering experience, including Embedded C/C++
Clear passion for the field, evidenced by personal/university projects alongside commercial experience
Strong understanding of mechanics of flight and aerospace control systems, with practical application
Ability to develop behavioural / application-level logic (the "what to do", not just the "how to do")
Comfortable using Git within an agile team, with solid engineering documentation habits
Strong hands-on experience with STM32 MCUs and the wider MCU toolchain (IDEs/compilers/debuggers)
Low-level driver knowledge: CAN, SPI, I2C, UART, PWM, ICU (and similar)
Enough embedded hardware knowledge to support software integration onto rigs / test hardware
Ability to support testing from unit tests to flight testing
Flexible mindset-willing to go above and beyond to deliver on-time with real-world quality/performance

Nice to have

Aviation or RC model aircraft interest/background (including piloting)
Experience with open-source autopilot ecosystems such as Betaflight, Ardupilot, PX4, MissionPlanner

Location / working pattern

Hybrid, but primarily on-site (hardware + flight test requirements)
Permanent role
Only candidates based in UK and eligible to work in UK are allowed