Software Engineer, Autonomous Systems

Saildrone is a maritime defense company and the global leader in autonomous unmanned surface vehicles. With more ocean miles and real-world operational experience than any USV manufacturer or operator, Saildrone maintains active, combat-deployed systems supporting national security and force projection around the world, 24/7/365.

Saildrone’s manufacturing and R&D headquarters are located in Alameda, CA, with business development and sales operations in Washington, DC, and deployment hubs in Europe and the Middle East. By combining proven autonomous operations, edge computing, advanced sensing, renewable power, and the most advanced unmanned surface technology on the planet, Saildrone is shaping how the Navy of the future operates.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Saildrone builds autonomous maritime systems that must perceive, reason about, and respond to the physical world without continuous human intervention. As a Software Engineer, Autonomous Systems, you will develop the software that turns autonomy algorithms into reliable capabilities running on real vehicles.

You will work across the autonomy stack, applying strong software engineering and robotics expertise to problems such as perception, localization, planning, decision-making, and vehicle behavior. The work spans algorithm implementation, system integration, testing, and field validation, with the opportunity to contribute to autonomous systems operating for extended periods in challenging environments far from human operators.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Design, implement, and deploy production autonomy software in C++


• Develop and integrate algorithms for autonomous perception, localization, planning, navigation, decision-making, or vehicle behavior


• Evaluate algorithmic approaches and make practical tradeoffs among accuracy, robustness, computational cost, latency, and reliability


• Integrate autonomy software with sensors, vehicle systems, and other components of the autonomous system


• Use simulation, testing, telemetry, and real-world vehicle data to validate behavior and diagnose failures


• Improve the robustness and performance of autonomous capabilities as they move from development into fielded systems


• Contribute to the architecture and evolution of Saildrone’s next-generation autonomy stack

YOU SHOULD HAVE

• Strong C++ software engineering skills and experience building production-quality software


• Hands-on experience developing software for autonomous systems, robotics, or other complex physical systems


• Deep technical expertise in at least one area of autonomy, such as perception, localization, state estimation, planning, navigation, controls, or decision-making


• Strong understanding of the algorithms and engineering tradeoffs relevant to autonomous systems


• Experience integrating algorithms into larger software systems and debugging behavior using real-world data


• Ability to reason about system behavior, performance, and reliability rather than treating algorithms as isolated components


• Experience developing and validating software that ultimately runs on real hardware

NICE TO HAVE

• Experience with autonomous vehicles, aerospace, defense, maritime systems, or other safety- or mission-critical applications


• Experience with real-time or resource-constrained systems


• Experience taking autonomy software through simulation, hardware integration, and field testing


• Experience with Python for analysis, experimentation, or tooling

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

Base Salary: $210,000 – $300,000, depending on experience

Saildrone offers competitive paid time off, a robust holiday schedule, and paid sick leave. Benefits include premium medical, dental, and vision coverage with significant company contributions for employees and dependents, equity grants, a 401(k) retirement plan, annual professional development reimbursement, and relocation assistance for eligible roles.