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 Robotics Software Engineer who's a true workhorse on the Archimedes robotics stack. Writing real production code across perception, control, and autonomy, and raising the bar on how we ship. You'll work directly alongside our Lead Software Engineer and our Principal Robotics SWE, contributing meaningfully to the stack while championing the QA and CI/CD practices that keep fielded software reliable. You're the senior IC who writes the code, then makes sure it survives contact with the field.
What You'll Own:
Hands-on development across the robotics software stack from perception, control, and autonomy
Championing QA practices and test coverage alongside Erick and the Principal, embedding quality into how the team works rather than bolting it on
CI/CD infrastructure and deployment hygiene for robotics and hardware-in-the-loop
Writing and maintaining the 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 across perception, controls, embedded, and EE
What We're Looking For:
5+ years of robotics software engineering with real shipped systems behind you
Strong hands-on development chops. You're a builder first, and you write production code that runs on real hardware
ROS2 experience and the judgment to know when not to use it
Experience building or operating CI/CD for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop 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: Senior IC at robotics companies that shipped to customers or operators, defense robotics groups, autonomy at automotive, or aerospace robotics programs that put software in front of real users.
We want to talk if: You're the engineer who writes the feature and the test for it, 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: 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:
Real-time systems experience
Sensor fusion or perception background
Defense or safety-critical software release experience
Built test automation frameworks for robotics or hardware-in-the-loop systems before
Education: BS, MS, or PhD in CS, Robotics, EE, 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. At ~10 engineers, 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).