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Autopilot Software Engineer - Hybrid (Southampton / Portsmouth)

Location: Southampton / Portsmouth (Hybrid working available)
Contract: Full-time, permanent
Sector: Autonomous Systems / Aerospace / Robotics

Are you passionate about building advanced autonomy for next‑generation unmanned aircraft? Join a high‑growth engineering team developing large autonomous fixed‑wing UAVs for logistics, humanitarian, and defence applications. You'll contribute directly to creating robust, reliable, and safe flight‑control systems for real‑world missions.

About the Role

We're looking for an Autopilot Software Engineer to help accelerate the development of our autonomy and flight‑control capabilities. You'll work across embedded software, behavioural autonomy, flight‑control logic, and the full testing ecosystem - from unit tests to real flight trials.

Essential Requirements

Professional experience in software engineering with strong embedded C/C++ skills
Practical, applied understanding of aerospace control systems
Ability to develop behavioural/application‑level autonomy software
Experience with version control (Git) within an agile team, including documentation
Strong skills with STM32 microcontrollers and associated toolchains (IDEs, debuggers, compilers)
Knowledge of low‑level interfaces: CAN, SPI, I²C, UART, PWM, ICU, etc.
Complementary understanding of embedded hardware
Ability to support a full testing ecosystem - from automated unit testing to flight testing
Flexibility, ownership mindset, and ability to deliver high‑quality, real‑world‑ready software
Experience with open‑source autopilot ecosystems (e.g., Betaflight, Ardupilot, PX4, MissionPlanner)

Nice to Have

Background or interest in aviation or RC model aircraft
Willingness and ability to travel, plus a driving licence and access to a vehicle

Key Responsibilities

Requirements capture and creation of technical specifications
Development of safety‑critical flight‑control software to exceptionally high reliability standards
Support test activities: automated unit tests, hardware‑in‑the‑loop, field tests, and flight trials
Assist with issue identification, debugging, and system‑level fault investigation

Employment Details

Contract Type: Full‑time, permanent
Location: Southampton / Portsmouth area, with hybrid working available
Department: Engineering