The posting
Who We Are:
Aurelius Systems is a VC backed defense tech startup building autonomous, edge deployed directed energy systems for counter-UAS. We build laser weapons to shoot down drones.
We're a small team of engineers, former US military operators, and subject matter experts scaling America's directed energy dominance. The first cost effective, reliable and robust laser weapon system.
Our namesake isn't an accident. Marcus Aurelius wrote about doing the work in front of you, every day, without excuses. Henry Ford didn't wait for permission to reinvent manufacturing. That's how we operate, small team, unreasonable output, no hiding behind the unachievable.
In addition to our San Francisco lab, we've opened a Detroit manufacturing hub and we field test weekly on our own 400-acre private range.
The Role and Your Impact:
We need a Senior Robotic Software Engineer who's a true workhorse on the Archimedes robotics stack. You write real production C++ across tracking, control and autonomy, and you raise the bar on how we ship. You'll work directly alongside our engineering leadersgup, owning features end to end while championing the QA and CI/CD practices that keep fielded software reliable. You're the senior IC who writes the code, makes it fast, then makes sure it survives contact with the field.
What You'll Own:
- Hands-on C++ development across the stack, from raw sensor data through tracking, control and autonomy
- Threading, process structure, performance and timing analysis on the paths you own
- QA practices and test coverage alongside Erick and the Principal, built into how the team works, not bolted on
- CI/CD and deployment hygiene for robotics and hardware-in-the-loop
- Automated tests and tooling that catch failures before the range does
- Code review and raising the quality bar across the robotics SWE team
- Cross-functional work with controls, embedded and EE
What We're Looking For:
- 4+ years writing production software with real shipped systems behind you
- Strong production C++ (our core stack is C++, Python is tooling)
- Real-time and performance chops: concurrency, profiling, latency and timing analysis
- Experience building or operating CI/CD for robotics, hardware-in-the-loop or other hardware-facing systems
- A genuine ownership mentality toward quality. You've seen what bad test discipline costs in the field and you fix it without being asked
Where you probably come from: Robotics companies that shipped to customers or operators, defense robotics, AV, aerospace, F1 or high-performance automotive, maritime, embedded or low-level systems work. Domain matters less than shipping.
We want to talk if: You're the engineer who writes the feature and the test for it, profiles it when it's slow, and quietly fixes the CI pipeline everyone else complains about. You've taken software from "works on my machine" to "works in the field."
Not a fit if: Your background is web, backend or full stack, you're a QA specialist who doesn't write production code, you're a researcher who hasn't shipped, or you think test discipline is someone else's job.
Nice to Haves:
- ROS2
- Rust or other systems languages
- Motion planning, trajectory optimization, state estimation or sensor fusion
- Defense or safety-critical software release experience
- Built test automation frameworks for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop
Education: BS, MS or PhD in CS, EE, Robotics or equivalent. Track record matters more than degree.
How You Operate:
- Extreme bias for action. You ship working code on real hardware, not slideware
- You debug from first principles, not intuition alone
- Comfortable with ambiguity and fast iteration in a startup environment
- Clear communicator across software, hardware, and operator-facing surfaces Self directed.
- You identify what needs to happen next and do it without being told
Why Join Aurelius Systems?
- Build more in 1 month than most people build in 1 year. We field test weekly. Your work makes the whole team faster.
- Career velocity is real. With no middle management, there are no layers between you and impact.
- Work on a problem that actually matters. Small cheap drones are changing warfare. Our laser systems are the asymmetric answer — infinite magazine, near zero cost per shot, scalable to every base, border, facility, and truck.
- Join the densest defense startup ecosystem in the country. California is where the next generation of defense companies are being built.
How We Work:
Core hours are Monday through Friday, 9 to 6. When we're sprinting toward a demo or field test, the team ramps up — nights, weekends, whatever it takes to ship. When the sprint lands, we ramp down. We don't manufacture intensity for show.
Benefits:
- Competitive salary + equity
- United Health Care medical, dental, and vision coverage
- Flexible 18 days PTO + 5 sick days
- Travel to field test events and range days
- Covered daily lunches and office snacks + drinks
- E-bike / scooter stipend (Up to $500)
- Direct access to leadership and real ownership over your work
Export Control Notice:
This role requires access to export-controlled information or items that require "U.S. Person" status. As defined by U.S. law, individuals who are any one of the following are considered to be a "U.S. Person": (1) U.S. citizens, (2) legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders), and (3) certain protected classes of asylees and refugees, as defined in 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3).
