Staff Software Engineer

Join Skyways as a Staff Software Engineer, where you will set the technical direction for software that powers autonomous aircraft. You will own the architecture and evolution of critical areas of the Skyways software stack, establish technical standards, and lead high-risk, high-leverage work. This role requires strong applied AI fluency, experience in aviation or robotics, and a track record of architecting and shipping across the stack.

• Own the architecture and evolution of critical areas of the Skyways software stack, spanning SkyNav, backend services, telemetry infrastructure, and autonomous aircraft software.
• Set technical standards for the software team and raise the quality bar through design, code review, and decision making.
• Drive cross-functional alignment across GNC, robotics, embedded software, flight operations, hardware, and leadership, turning ambiguous company priorities into concrete technical plans validated in simulation and flight testing.

• Strong applied AI fluency, including using modern AI development tools effectively and building AI enabled product or operational capabilities
• The judgment to define your own direction within company strategy, the ability to debug complex issues across application, network, operating system, and hardware boundaries, and a proactive, low ego approach to owning ambiguous problems from concept through deployment
• 8+ years of professional software engineering experience, including ownership of production systems that span multiple teams
• Experience in aviation, robotics, autonomous systems, or another environment where software interacts with real world hardware
• Experience designing distributed systems and APIs for performance, reliability, load balancing, and observability at scale
• A track record of architecting and shipping across the stack, from user interfaces and 3D experiences to backend services and systems software
• Evidence of force multiplication: standards you set, designs you drove, and engineers who got better because you were there
• Deep production proficiency in Python, JavaScript or TypeScript, and C++
• Knowledge of FAA operations, UAS regulations, defense programs, or export controlled development environments
• Experience at an early stage company where engineers move quickly across disciplines
• Background in GNC, computer vision, autonomy, or flight testing
• Experience with embedded Linux, avionics, sensors, or direct hardware communication
• Experience with real time telemetry, event streaming, fleet systems, or high availability infrastructure
• Experience with Electron, CesiumJS, Three.js, Babylon.js, WebGL, or similar 3D technologies
• Experience with ArduPilot, PX4, or another autopilot stack