Principal Robotics Engineer - Autonomy & Behavior

What we’re looking for

We are looking for a Principal Robotics Engineer to set the technical direction for how our robots make decisions. Today, much of that logic sits in handwritten C++. You will move it into behavior trees or a similar formal model, so that a reader can follow and test a flight from a file.

You will also define how these models request flight skills from the autopilot, and you will make the stack reusable on a second robot. This is a technical authority role with no people to manage. You will join an autonomy team of five engineers, report to the Team Lead Autonomy, and work closely with our Principal Systems Engineer.

We want a strong robotics generalist with deep C++ skills and real depth in at least one area: state estimation, motion planning, control, or perception.

The day-to-day

Own the

behavior

layer

• : design the nodes
• , the ports
• , and the structure that makes a flight readable and testable as data rather than as code.

Move the

remaining

flight

authority

out of hand-

written

logic

and

into

the

tree

• , and prove that the new path behaves like the old one before we delete the old one
• .

Define

how

the

companion

computer

asks

the

autopilot

for a

flight

skill

• , and how it reads back whether that skill is running
• ,

finished

,

or

refused

.

Draw the

line

between

what

is

shared

across

robots

and

what

each

robot

writes

for

itself

, so that a second platform reuses the stack instead of forking it.

Make

failures

legible

• : a log and a trace should tell a reader which check said no
• , and why
• .

Work

across

the

autonomy

,

perception

,

platform

• , and testing teams
• ,

since

the

behavior

layer

touches

all of

them

.

Raise the

technical

bar: design

reviews

• , code reviews
• , and the written arguments that go with them
• .

Mentor

engineers

,

without

holding

a

management

line

.

You should apply if you

• Have around 5 years or more of robotics software experience. Leadership experience is not required.
• Have deep C++ expertise, and the judgment to design a system that other people will extend.
• Have real experience with behavior trees, or with another explicit way of expressing robot behavior, and clear opinions about where that approach breaks.
• Have a breadth of knowledge across robotics: state estimation, motion planning, control, or perception. Depth in at least one of them.

Have Experience

with

robots

that

run

in the

physical

world

• , not only in simulation
• .
• Possess the ability to take a design apart in a discussion and put it back together bette

Nice to haves

Experience

with

BehaviorTree.CPP

or

a

comparable

behavior

tree

library

,

including

tooling

around

it.

Experience

with

ROS 2, DDS, and the design

questions

that

come

with

a

distributed

robotics

system

.

Experience

with

PX4,

ArduPilot

,

or

MAVLink

• , and with the split of work between an autopilot and a companion computer
• .

Experience

with

drones

or

other

aircraft

.

Experience

with

simulation

, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop,

or

replay-based

testing

.

Experience

making

a

robotics

stack

work

for

more

than

one

platform

.

Open source

contributions

in

robotics

.

Strong

written

communication

.

We

write

our

arguments

down.

Strong

written

and spoken English. German

is

a plus.

What we offer

Real impact & ownership

Shape high-tech defense systems and take responsibility from day one

Mission-driven environment

Work on technologies that matter for European security and sovereignty

Competitive package

Competitive salary, EGYM Wellpass, corporate benefits, and equity options aligned with role and level

Deep tech environment

Get hands-on experience with cutting-edge drone technology and real operational use cases

Grow fast

Steep learning curve for juniors, strategic influence and leadership opportunities for seniors

Startup mindset meets defence innovation

flat hierarchies, fast decisions, and space for your ideas.

Flexibility

Flexible hours, remote options, and relocation support

Strong team

International, driven colleagues and a culture built on exchange, trust, and shared success