Autonomy Integration Engineer, Airborne Systems

Hermeus is a high-speed aircraft manufacturer focused on the rapid design, build, and test of high-Mach and hypersonic aircraft for the national interest. Working directly with the Department of Defense, Hermeus delivers capabilities that will ensure that our nation, and our allies, maintain an asymmetric advantage over any and all potential adversaries.

The Autonomy and Vehicle Management System (VMS) Integration Engineer is responsible for integrating, implementing, and validating autonomy software within the aircraft’s mission system architecture. This role requires deep experience in software development, embedded systems programming, service-based architectures, and behavioral modeling. The engineer writes, modifies, and reviews mission system code; develops and validates Open Mission Systems (OMS) and Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI) services; builds Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and interface adapters; implements autonomy state machines; debugs system behaviors across simulation, Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL), and flight test; and ensures that all autonomy and VMS interactions comply with the aircraft’s Interface Control Document (ICD). This role is fundamentally a software engineering role embedded in a mission-systems and flight-integration environment.

• Design and integrate autonomy software into the mission system architecture: implement autonomy-related OMS and UCI services, message schemas, state machine logic, and command/telemetry pipelines using the languages, frameworks, and runtime environments defined by the platform; ensure correct mapping to the aircraft Interface Control Document (ICD) and Vehicle Management System (VMS) control surfaces and configuration modes.
• Translate autonomy documentation into software implementations: convert behavior graphs, trajectory-planning algorithms, state machines, and autonomy developer specifications into functional code, software modules, and subsystem-level requirements; identify interface gaps and work closely with autonomy developers and Advanced Development to close them.
• Develop OMS and UCI service definitions, schemas, and behaviors: implement service endpoints, publish/subscribe mechanisms, message catalogs, and data schemas for autonomy; enforce strict adherence to OMS and UCI standards through code-level validation, schema enforcement, error handling, and interface version control.
• Create API adapters and protocol-translation layers: write software adapters, bridges, and interface shims enabling third-party autonomy software to interoperate with mission planning systems, ground control stations, debrief/data pipelines, and VMS components; ensure deterministic behavior and strict schema consistency across subsystems.
• Develop autonomy behavior logic and contingency modes: implement behavior state machines, guard conditions, transition logic, overrides, failsafes, and degraded-mode behaviors in code; embed safety envelopes, aerodynamic constraints, control-rate limits, and propulsion modes into autonomy-VMS interactions.
• Integrate autonomy into SITL, HITL, and simulation environments: embed autonomy executables, libraries, and services into Software-in-the-Loop (SITL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL), and large-scale simulation environments; write simulation adapters, wrappers, and integration code to ensure deterministic, reproducible behavior aligned with actual flight dynamics.
• Debug autonomy and VMS interactions across all environments: use logs, traces, real-time telemetry, debugging tools, and simulation traces to diagnose issues in autonomy behavior, message timing, API interactions, state machines, and control responses; implement corrective code changes to ensure stable behavior.
• Implement ICD conformance checks in software: write and maintain schema validators, API harnesses, message diff tools, and automated regression tests to validate ICD, OMS, and UCI compliance across autonomy subsystems; ensure backward compatibility and stability of interface versions.
• Support mission planning and operator workflows through code integration: implement or validate software pathways that carry mission planning outputs, operator tasking inputs, and autonomy mode selections into the autonomy system; ensure correct and unambiguous interpretation of messages and data.
• Collaborate with VMS engineers on control system integration: implement the software-side mapping between autonomy commands and VMS actuators, navigation instructions, propulsion settings, and configuration states; ensure autonomy-generated commands respect platform safety constraints.
• Support flight test and data analysis: implement instrumentation code, data loggers, event tagging mechanisms, black-box logging routines, and telemetry schemas required to capture autonomy behavior in flight; analyze post-flight data to validate and refine autonomy software.
• Communicate integration and software development status: provide clear updates on software development progress, integration risks, debugging efforts, and readiness for simulation or flight test to the Lead Systems Integration Engineer, Product Engineering Lead, and program leadership.
• Generate end-product deliverables for internal and external customers: produce high-quality, traceable, and review-ready engineering artifacts including documentation, reports, data packages, analysis outputs, integrations, and configuration updates that meet program requirements, support design reviews, and satisfy customer or partner expectations.

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or a related field with a heavy software focus.
• 8+ years of professional experience developing software for autonomy, unmanned aerial systems (UAS), mission systems, robotics, embedded systems, or flight-critical applications.
• Strong proficiency in C and C++, Python or similar languages; familiarity with Rust or modern safety-critical languages is a plus.
• Demonstrated experience implementing or integrating Open Mission Systems (OMS) and Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI) services, schemas, message sets, and software behaviors.
• Hands-on experience designing and implementing autonomy state machines, behavior trees, trajectory planners, contingency modes, and control interfaces.
• Experience with Software-in-the-Loop (SITL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL), and large-scale simulation environments, including integration of compiled software, libraries, and service wrappers.
• Ability to read, interpret, and author Interface Control Documents (ICDs), Application Programming Interface (API) specifications, and subsystem software requirements with high technical accuracy.
• Experience writing API adapters, protocol brokers, message translators, and schema validators for distributed mission system software architectures.
• Familiarity with Vehicle Management Systems (VMS), control surface mapping, propulsion mode control, rate limits, and safety constraints for high-speed unmanned aircraft.
• Proficiency with software development tools including Git, continuous integration pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and debugging tools for distributed systems.
• Strong ability to analyze logs, traces, telemetry, and simulation data to diagnose and correct autonomy behavior issues.
• Experience collaborating with multidisciplinary teams including software developers, autonomy researchers, avionics engineers, ground control interface teams, and simulation/test personnel.
• Active Secret clearance required; Top Secret / Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) preferred.

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.