Senior/Principal Mission Software Engineer

Hermeus is a venture-backed defense aviation company reclaiming the lost art of rapid iterative prototyping to build the fastest aircraft in the world today. By prioritizing relentless hardware iteration, we deliver high-speed systems at the pace of the modern battlefield. We work with the Department of War to provide the high-speed capabilities our nation and its allies need to maintain a durable, asymmetric advantage.

About The Role:

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 

U.S. Citizenship Requirement

Due to U.S. Government requirements associated with access to Controlled Cryptographic Items (CCI) and related controlled information, this position is limited to U.S. citizens. U.S. permanent residents (Green Card holders) are not eligible for this role.

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.

Benefits:

• 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

U.S. EXPORT CONTROL COMPLIANCE STATUS 

The person hired will have access to information and items subject to U.S. export controls, and therefore, must either be a “U.S. person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.62 or otherwise eligible for deemed export licensing. US persons include U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, lawful permanent residents (green card holders), and asylees and refugees with such status granted, not pending. 

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY

Hermeus is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment decisions at Hermeus are based solely on merit, competence, and qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin/ethnicity, veteran status, disability status, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, mental or physical disability, or any other legally protected status.

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