Autopilot Software Engineer

Autopilot Software Engineer

Location: Wiltshire

Salary: £50,000–£60,000

Working Pattern: Full-time | Minimum 3 days on-site per week, increasing to full-time on-site when project requirements dictate

Security: Must be eligible for Security Clearance (SC)

The Opportunity

We are working with a growing aerospace and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) engineering business looking for an experienced Autopilot Software Engineer to join its specialist Autopilot team.

We are keen to speak with engineers who have practical experience working with autopilot stacks and can apply their knowledge to real UAV platforms.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop, configure and test ArduPilot-based flight control systems across multiple UAV platforms.
• Test and optimise flight behaviour, autopilot parameters and mission execution using Software-in-the-Loop (SITL) simulations and real-world flight testing.
• Integrate sensors, including GPS, cameras and LiDAR, to support robust aircraft performance.
• Analyse flight logs and test results to identify issues and improve system performance.
• Contribute to software requirements capture, documentation and architectural design.

Essential Skills & Experience

• Proven, hands-on experience with ArduPilot, PX4 or similar open-source autopilot stacks, with ArduPilot experience particularly advantageous.
• Strong knowledge of MAVLink, mission planning and UAV communication protocols.
• Practical experience with UAV tuning, flight testing and flight log analysis using tools such as Mission Planner or MAVProxy.
• Excellent working knowledge of C++.
• Experience with communication protocols such as CAN, SPI, I2C, UDP and TCP.
• Experience taking software from requirements definition through to implementation and completion.

Candidates must:

• Be eligible to obtain Security Clearance (SC), with five years' UK residency required for this role.
• Have British citizenship or existing permission to work in the UK.
• Hold a full, valid UK driving licence.
• Be willing to undertake occasional national and international travel.