Software and Autonomy Engineering Lead

Location: Leander, Texas

Employment Type: Full-Time

Work Arrangement: Onsite

Position Overview

An early-stage defense technology company is seeking a Software and Autonomy Engineering Lead to guide the technical direction of its complete autonomy software stack—from embedded firmware and perception systems to advanced autonomous targeting capabilities.

This role will lead a small engineering team developing computer vision, sensor fusion, targeting, and control systems designed to operate on constrained edge hardware in dynamic and contested environments. The successful candidate will establish architecture and coding standards, mentor engineers, and contribute directly to the development and field deployment of perception and autonomy systems.

Key Responsibilities

Technical Leadership

• Define the technical direction and architecture for embedded firmware and autonomy software


• Establish coding standards and engineering best practices


• Lead, mentor, and support the growth of a small team of firmware and software engineers


• Evaluate build-versus-buy and internal-development-versus-partnership decisions


• Collaborate with hardware engineering and program management teams on system-level requirements and tradeoffs

Perception and Autonomy

• Develop and deploy real-time object detection, classification, and tracking systems


• Build solutions for identifying small, fast-moving aerial and ground targets


• Optimize computer vision and machine-learning models for deployment on resource-constrained edge hardware


• Develop multi-sensor perception and sensor-fusion pipelines


• Improve system reliability under challenging real-world and operational conditions


• Integrate perception outputs with tracking, targeting, and control systems


• Take autonomy capabilities from early prototypes through field deployment

Firmware and Systems Integration

• Oversee firmware architecture for sensor drivers, real-time operating system scheduling, and hardware controls


• Create and maintain reliable interfaces between firmware, perception, targeting, and control layers


• Support system integration, field testing, troubleshooting, and performance validation across the full technology stack


• Work closely with multidisciplinary teams to resolve hardware and software integration challenges

General Qualifications

• Strong leadership experience across embedded systems, perception, autonomy, or related software disciplines


• Hands-on experience developing production-quality software for complex, real-time systems


• Ability to contribute independently while leading and collaborating with a multidisciplinary team


• Strong ownership mindset and the ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving startup environment


• Willingness to participate in field testing and support deployed systems

Export-Control Requirements

To comply with U.S. government export-control regulations, applicants must be one of the following:

• A U.S. citizen