Principal Software Engineer

Principal Software Engineer – Autonomy

Melbourne | Hybrid (3 days onsite)

A principal-level role where you’ll own system design across a deep-tech autonomy platform, while staying hands-on in the code.

The company

Our client is a Melbourne-based defence technology company building AI-powered sensing systems for autonomous platforms. Their products already operate in the field with defence and national security customers in Australia and allied markets.

Following a recent Series A, they’re scaling quickly. Their software organisation has grown into several specialist teams, and they now need someone to make sure it all works as one system.

The role

As Principal Software Engineer, you’ll be the technical authority for system design across the software teams. You’ll sit as a peer to the tech leads, with no direct reports, and make sure technical decisions across perception, platform, product and operations fit together.

When a new capability or customer requirement lands, you’ll design the solution across each team’s area and help every team understand what they need to contribute.

What you’ll do:

• Own end-to-end system design across multiple software teams
• Set the interfaces, data contracts and measurable requirements for latency, safety, security and resilience
• Write code and review large changes that cut across teams
• Lead design workshops and design reviews
• Help move the platform from a single edge computer to multiple cooperating computers across different sensors
• Mentor senior engineers and raise architecture standards

What you’ll bring

• Significant experience as a senior, staff or principal engineer, and still hands-on
• Experience building native or embedded software that runs on hardware deployed in the field
• Strong C++ or Rust (or similar) with solid engineering fundamentals
• A working understanding of the autonomy stack: ML models in production, state estimation, computer vision, control and embedded systems, enough to make system-level trade-offs
• Experience designing systems that span multiple teams or components
• An emphasis on getting it right before it ships, for systems that can run for months without remote access
• The ability to explain trade-offs clearly and bring people with you

Nice to have:

• Robotics, drones, uncrewed systems, defence or aerospace experience
• Electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR), imaging or sensor-fusion experience
• Distributed edge computing or multi-sensor systems
• Rust experience

Why join?

• Shape the technical direction of new deep-tech products that are already deployed in the field
• Technical leadership without people management
• Work across optics, autonomy, robotics and real-time AI in one product
• A small, low-ego team where ideas win on merit
• Senior-level ESOP

The details

• Location: Melbourne, hybrid with 3 days a week onsite
• Eligibility: you must be eligible for Australian Government Baseline security clearance. Australian citizens are preferred and permanent residents will be considered (eligibility restrictions apply).