The Mission Systems Engineering team develops the Mission Management System—the software platform connecting mission subsystems, autonomy services, operator interfaces, communications links, and telemetry across Hermeus aircraft and ground systems.
As a Senior/Principal Mission Software Engineer, you will architect, build, integrate, and validate critical portions of this platform. You will work across software, avionics, communications, autonomy, simulation, and flight operations to solve complex problems in distributed, hardware-connected environments.
This is a hands-on technical leadership role with the opportunity to define foundational architecture and directly influence how Hermeus aircraft are commanded, monitored, tested, and expanded with new mission capabilities.
Responsibilities:
Own major Mission Management System capabilities from architecture through integration, testing, and operational use
Design and develop high-performance C++ software for command and control, telemetry, mission workflows, and subsystem coordination
Define scalable architectures, interfaces, APIs, protocols, and message schemas
Integrate autonomy services, sensors, payloads, radios, tactical datalinks, and third-party systems
Make technical decisions involving performance, reliability, latency, fault tolerance, and extensibility
Diagnose complex issues across distributed software, networks, embedded hardware, avionics, and communications systems
Partner with systems, avionics, autonomy, networking, flight-test, and operations teams
Build and improve simulation, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, and system-integration environments
Lead design reviews, code reviews, technical trade studies, and integration activities
Identify technical risks and drive solutions in environments where requirements are still evolving
Mentor engineers and establish strong software architecture and development practices
Support ground and flight-test campaigns, including real-time troubleshooting
Requirements:
Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Software Engineering, or a related field
7+ years of professional software-development experience for Senior-level consideration
10+ years of relevant experience, or an equivalent record of technical leadership and impact, for Principal-level consideration
Advanced proficiency with modern C++, including C++17 or newer
Experience designing and delivering complex, production-quality software systems
Strong knowledge of concurrency, memory management, software architecture, and performance-oriented development
Experience with distributed, real-time, embedded, robotic, aerospace, or other hardware-connected systems
Experience with TCP, UDP, multicast, and socket-level network programming
Ability to define architectures, interfaces, protocols, and system boundaries in ambiguous environments
Experience integrating software with hardware, external services, or independently developed subsystems
Strong debugging skills across software, networking, and hardware interfaces
Ability to clearly communicate technical decisions, risks, and tradeoffs across multidisciplinary teams
Demonstrated ownership through design, implementation, integration, testing, and deployment
Preferred Skills and Experience:
Experience with mission systems, command-and-control software, mission planning, ground-control systems, autonomy platforms, or operator-facing applications
Aerospace, defense, robotics, autonomous vehicle, or spacecraft experience
Experience with RF communications, SATCOM, line-of-sight radios, or tactical datalinks
Familiarity with publish/subscribe architectures or middleware such as DDS, ZeroMQ, ActiveMQ, or Kafka
Experience integrating third-party sensors, payloads, autonomy services, radios, or mission subsystems
Knowledge of avionics architectures, aircraft networks, telemetry, and command-and-control workflows
Linux software development and deployment experience
Experience developing fault-tolerant or degraded-mode behaviors for distributed systems
Experience with simulation, SIL, HIL, system-integration labs, ground tests, or flight tests
Familiarity with standards such as DO-178C, ARINC, FACE, OMS/UCI, STANAG, or MIL-STD
Experience establishing technical direction or influencing execution across multiple teams
Experience working in a startup or rapid-prototyping environment
The salary range listed for this role is intended as a general guideline. Final compensation will be determined based on a variety of factors, including role scope and responsibilities, relevant experience, education and training, key skills, market data, and business needs.
At Hermeus, compensation is only one part of our total rewards package. We offer competitive pay, equity, and a range of benefits designed to support our team.
- Health & Wellness: 100% employer-paid healthcare and pet insurance
- Financial: Competitive pay, stock options, 401(k) retirement plan, and potential year-end bonuses
- Time Off: Paid parental leave, 12 federal holidays, unlimited PTO for exempt employees, and generous accrued PTO for non-exempt employees
- Office Perks: Weekly paid office lunches and fully stocked breakrooms
Hermeus Los Angeles, California, USA Office
Los Angeles, CA, United States
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