Sr. UAV Autonomy Engineer - Drone Stack (AI2529) - San Jose, California, United States
$120,800 - $193,300 USD yearly
Originally posted 14 August 2026 by the employer.
Build the core of SiMa.ai's drone stack, focusing on GPS-denied navigation and autonomous docking.
About the role
This role involves building the core of SiMa.ai's drone stack, owning GPS-denied navigation and autonomous docking. You will develop perception, localization, and control software for aircraft to sense, avoid obstacles, and land accurately without GNSS on embedded hardware.
What you'll do
- Lead the development of the core drone autonomy stack, including GPS-Denied Navigation & Localization.
- Maintain flight stability and precise positioning in environments where GNSS is unavailable.
- Build reliable systems for repeatable autonomous docking and precision landing to stations in challenging conditions.
- Implement real-time perception and motion planning algorithms for obstacle avoidance and path planning.
- Optimize the autonomy stack for SiMa.ai’s embedded hardware under strict power/weight limits for edge deployment.
- Manage camera-IMU calibration, SIL/HIL rigs, and flight testing to close the sim-to-real gap.
What you'll need
- 5+ years building autonomy software flown on real aircraft (multirotor, fixed-wing, or VTOL); integrated flight stacks (PX4/ArduPilot) via MAVLink.
- Hands-on expertise in VIO/SLAM, multi-sensor fusion, state estimation, and closed-loop control.
- Fluent in modern C++, Python, and ROS 2.
- Strong grasp of 3D geometry and rigid-body dynamics.
- BS/MS in Robotics, Aerospace, CS, EE, or a related field.
Skills: UAV Autonomy, GPS-Denied Navigation, localization, embedded hardware, ROS 2, C++
This role has been open 62 days — well below the 191-day median for Embedded Firmware Engineering roles.
Embedded Firmware Engineering · AI ML Hardware
|
Open roles in category
30
|
Median days open
191 d
|
Median salary
$158k
|
See the full market breakdown ▾Category comparison, skills in demand, and who else is hiring
| Metric | SiMa.ai | All employers we track in this specialty (30 roles · 12 employers) |
|---|---|---|
| Open roles in this specialty | 1 | 30 |
| Open roles in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family | 8 | 6157 · 145 employers |
| Median days open | 62 d | 191 d (−129 d vs this employer) |
| Median salary (USD postings) | — | $158k |
Skills observed across this category: UAV Autonomy, GPS-Denied Navigation, localization, embedded hardware, ROS 2, C++
Who's hiring in this category
- Qualcomm · 14 open roles · median 191 d
- NVIDIA · 5 open roles · median 215 d
- Infineon Technologies · 2 open roles · median 147 d
- Ambarella · 1 open role · median 213 d
- AMD · 1 open role · median 12 d
- Arm Holdings · 1 open role · median 162 d
How we counted: 30 open Embedded Firmware Engineering (AI ML Hardware) roles from 12 employers tracked in the SemiconductorJobs index, counted 17 Oct 2026. Specialty figures count only roles carrying this exact specialty label, so an employer's related work in neighbouring specialties is not included there — it is counted in the wider Software, Firmware & Systems family row. Figures refresh nightly.