System Engineer

Systems Engineer – Robotics & UAV

Hands-on UAV systems integration role in Abu Dhabi: bring up sensors, payloads and embedded compute on autonomous aerial platforms.

• Location: Abu Dhabi, UAE — relocation opportunity
• Salary: €85,000 to €95,000 per annum, tax-free
• Job Type: Permanent

About the Business

A rapidly expanding advanced technology group developing next-generation autonomous, robotic and unmanned systems. Based in Abu Dhabi, the organisation builds and flies real platforms, not slideware, and is growing its engineering capability at pace across aerial, ground and maritime systems.

About the Role

They're looking for a Systems Integration Engineer to join their Autonomous Robotics team and make the hardware and software on their UAV platforms work together, reliably, in the air.

You'll own defined integration activities end to end, from first hardware bring-up through driver development, middleware integration, testing and flight validation. That means sensors, payloads, cameras, flight controllers, comms links and onboard compute. You'll work closely with software, autonomy, perception, hardware and flight-test teams.

You don't need to be a specialist in every technology on the platform. You do need strong engineering fundamentals and the ability to pick up an unfamiliar ICD or datasheet and turn it into working C++. Scope grows as you do, towards ownership of more complex system-level integrations.

What You'll Be Doing

• Integrating new sensors, payloads, cameras and flight controllers onto UAV platforms and onboard compute
• Designing and maintaining C++ software components, user-space drivers and hardware interfaces
• Implementing and debugging device comms over UART/serial, CAN, Ethernet, TCP and UDP
• Working from datasheets, interface control documents and protocol specs to bring up new hardware
• Building reliable data acquisition, parsing, validation and serialisation between system components
• Integrating components with the platform's middleware and IPC architecture
• Configuring and troubleshooting networking between distributed onboard systems
• Deploying and maintaining software on embedded Linux, using Docker for packaging and deployment
• Supporting camera and video integration using GStreamer and V4L2
• Analysing logs, telemetry, network traffic and recorded data to find and fix integration issues across lab, ground and flight testing

What We're Looking For

Essential:

• Degree in Computer, Electrical, Robotics or Aerospace Engineering, or a related discipline
• 2–5 years' engineering experience in robotics, UAVs, embedded systems or similar
• Professional C++ development experience
• Strong Linux skills, including command-line tooling and system-level debugging
• Hands-on experience integrating software with sensors, embedded devices or other hardware
• Working knowledge of UART/serial, CAN, Ethernet, TCP and UDP
• Solid grasp of networking and communication between distributed systems
• Experience troubleshooting multi-component hardware/software systems
• Comfortable translating protocol specs and technical documentation into reliable code
• Git and standard software development practice

Desirable:

• PX4 or other UAV autopilot systems
• MAVLink or similar device protocols
• NVIDIA Jetson or comparable embedded Linux platforms
• Docker / Docker Compose
• Cameras, gimbals, IMUs, GNSS, rangefinders or other robotic sensors
• CAN FD and SocketCAN
• GStreamer, V4L2 or other video frameworks
• Wireshark, tcpdump or similar protocol analysis tools
• ROS / ROS 2, DDS or other pub/sub middleware
• Gazebo or other robotics simulation
• CI/CD and automated deployment
• UAV ground and flight testing

What's On Offer

• €85,000 to €95,000 per annum, tax-free
• Full relocation support to Abu Dhabi for the right candidate
• Real hands-on work with flying hardware, from bench bring-up through to flight test
• Clear path to owning more complex system-level integrations
• Exposure to multi-domain autonomous systems across air, ground and maritime platforms

Why Abu Dhabi? Why Set2Recruit?

We've been placing engineers in the UAE for over 10 years. More than 300 engineers have made the move to Abu Dhabi through us, so if you're curious about what relocation actually looks like (housing, schooling, visa process, tax position), we can give you a straight answer based on real experience, not guesswork.

Abu Dhabi offers a tax-free salary, a high standard of living, world-class infrastructure and a fast-growing defence and technology sector. For the right engineer, it's a significant step up in both scope and lifestyle.

Benefits -

Tax free package

Base + yearly salary review + non-contractual bonus

Amazing relocation – flights out and home once a year (allowance) + education allowance – 30,000 AED per child per year (2yrs to 18rys old) + private healthcare & dental (all family) + 1 month hotel + 22 days holiday + 12 days bank hols + x2 first month salary (help towards any costs relocation)

If this sounds like the right move for you, apply now or reach out directly — we’re happy to talk through the role and the relocation in confidence.