Ground Segment 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 Ground Segment Engineer, Airborne Systems is responsible for designing, implementing, and integrating the operator-facing mission control software and the complete mission data ecosystem that connects airborne systems, ground control stations, autonomy services, and analysis tools. This role requires deep software engineering expertise to build tablet-based Ground Control Station (GCS) applications, implement Open Mission Systems (OMS) and Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI) integrations, develop real-time telemetry and visualization tools, and construct high-fidelity data logging, synchronization, and playback frameworks. The engineer ensures that mission planning products, autonomy commands, vehicle state data, communications traces, sensor events, and mission logs flow predictably and coherently across airborne, ground, and simulation environments, enabling effective command and monitoring during test and reliable reconstruction during debrief.

• Design and implement GCS and operator interface software: develop user interfaces, command pathways, mission planning integrations, real-time visualization tools, and operator workflows for a Ground Control Station (GCS); ensure seamless flow of mission planning outputs, autonomy tasking inputs, and vehicle telemetry into intuitive, stable UI components implemented in modern software frameworks.
• Integrate OMS and UCI services into ground systems: implement Open Mission Systems (OMS) and Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI) services, message exchanges, subscriptions, and telemetry pathways within GCS and debrief applications; ensure strict schema adherence, correct service behaviors, and deterministic handling of command and telemetry messages.
• Develop and maintain mission data pipelines: design and implement onboard and ground-side data logging solutions, message brokers, telemetry collectors, timestamping and synchronization logic, and metadata tagging methods; ensure mission data from autonomy, Vehicle Management System (VMS), communications systems, sensors, and operator actions is time-aligned and traceable.
• Implement debrief, playback, and analysis capabilities: develop or integrate mission playback tools supporting 2D/3D visualization, timeline navigation, annotations, multi-source event reconstruction, autonomy behavior visualization, and correlation of telemetry with operator and subsystem actions.
• Develop cross-domain workflows and secure data handling processes: implement workflows and software functions for packaging, sanitizing, annotating, and transferring mission data between classification domains; enforce metadata tagging, integrity checks, and cross-domain solution (CDS) requirements.
• Develop APIs, data translators, and telemetry decoders: write Application Programming Interfaces (APIs), protocol adapters, schema validators, message translation tools, and ingestion pipelines to integrate airborne mission systems with ground software, cloud data platforms, and debrief tools.
• Integrate ground systems into simulation and HITL environments: embed GCS and debrief software into Software-in-the-Loop (SITL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL), and Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) frameworks; build simulation adapters that emulate telemetry flows, autonomy outputs, communications behaviors, and mission phase transitions.
• Implement event tagging, metadata standards, and evidence pipelines: build logic to capture autonomy transitions, operator actions, communications events, subsystem faults, and timing discrepancies; ensure data is structured to support verification, validation, regression testing, and detailed flight-test debrief.
• Debug and refine ground-software and data interactions: use logs, telemetry traces, streaming data analysis tools, and simulation outputs to diagnose issues in UI workflows, schema parsing, timing behavior, data integrity, or playback fidelity; implement code fixes and architectural improvements.
• Collaborate across autonomy, mission systems, airborne software, and test teams: ensure ground-segment workflows and software interfaces correctly represent autonomy states, mission logic, and real-time aircraft behavior; incorporate test and operator feedback to mature ground systems iteratively.
• Communicate integration and ground-segment readiness: provide updates on GCS development, data-system stability, cross-domain readiness, simulation integration, and flight-test preparedness 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 Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or a related field with a strong software focus.
• 8+ years of experience developing mission-system interfaces, operator software, telemetry systems, or distributed data architectures for unmanned systems, aerospace platforms, or mission operations environments.
• Strong proficiency in software development with experience in languages such as C++, Python, C#, or JavaScript/TypeScript for UI, backend, and data systems development.
• Demonstrated expertise integrating Open Mission Systems (OMS) and Universal Command and Control Interface (UCI) services, schemas, and message catalogs into ground software.
• Experience building real-time telemetry pipelines, data loggers, message brokers, and synchronization frameworks for time-series mission data.
• Hands-on experience developing mission playback tools, visualization systems, or multi-source event reconstruction applications.
• Familiarity with cross-domain workflows, data sanitization pipelines, metadata standards, and secure data-management practices.
• Experience integrating ground software into Software-in-the-Loop (SITL), Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL), or Joint Simulation Environment (JSE) testbeds.
• Ability to design and maintain APIs, schema translators, telemetry decoders, and automated interface verification tools.
• Proficiency with software development tools including Git, continuous integration pipelines, automated testing frameworks, and debugging tools.
• Strong ability to analyze logs, telemetry, operator actions, and simulation traces to diagnose issues and refine system behavior.
• Experience collaborating with autonomy engineers, airborne software teams, mission systems engineers, test personnel, and operator representatives.
• 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.