Drone Software Jobs
Software is where much of the drone industry's hardest problems are solved — autonomy, perception, flight control and the systems that let aircraft fly and navigate on their own. These roles are among the best-paid in the field. Below are the latest drone software jobs from companies hiring now.
- Roles open
- 306
Senior Robotics Software Engineer, Generalist
Senior Robotics Software Engineer, Behaviors
Product Manager Airspace & Autonomy - DoorDash Air
Sr. RF Firmware Engineer
Edge Data Processing and Software Engineer
Senior Software Developer Kotlin
Senior Embedded Software Engineer
Embedded Systems Engineer
Senior Autonomy Engineer
Senior Robotics Software Engineer
Internship - Embedded Software
AI/Deep Learning Engineer Intern (Computer Vision)
Principal Embedded Software Engineer
Embedded Linux Software Team Lead
Senior Manager, GNC (R5627)
Sr Embedded DSP Engineer - High Performance Signal Processing
CDAO - Enterprise AI - Director, Autonomy Division
CDAO - Enterprise AI - Program Manager, Autonomy Digital Platforms
Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) Engineer - Navigation and Estimation- Air Dominance & Strike
Senior Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) Engineer - Navigation and Estimation- Air Dominance & Strike
The intelligence of a modern drone lives in its software
That covers: flight control and guidance, navigation and control (GNC), autonomy and path planning, computer vision and perception, machine learning for detection and tracking, embedded and firmware development, and the backend and DevOps systems that support fleets in the field. Employers range from defense and autonomy startups to delivery and enterprise-drone companies, and the work often sits at the cutting edge of robotics and AI.
Common requirements include strong programming skills — C++, Rust, Python are frequent — plus experience in robotics, control systems, computer vision or machine learning depending on the role. Many positions are senior and well compensated, reflecting the difficulty of the problems and the competition for people who can solve them. A drone flight certificate is almost never required; this is software engineering applied to aircraft. Roles are updated continuously as companies across the US, Europe and elsewhere post new openings.
Not writing the code? Drone engineer jobs cover the hardware side, and many of these roles are also available as remote drone jobs.
Questions, answered
- What are drone software jobs?
- Software engineering roles focused on making drones fly, navigate and operate autonomously — including flight control, autonomy, perception, computer vision, machine learning and embedded systems.
- What programming languages do drone software jobs use?
- C++, Rust and Python are the most common, often alongside robotics frameworks and machine-learning or computer-vision libraries, depending on the specific role.
- Do I need to be a drone pilot to work in drone software?
- No. These are engineering roles and rarely require a flight certificate. The priority is software, robotics, control-systems or ML experience.
- Are drone software jobs well paid?
- Generally yes. Autonomy, perception and flight-control roles are among the best-compensated in the industry because of the specialised skills involved. See individual listings for salary ranges.