Software Engineer - Simulation & Robotics Engineer

We are looking for a software engineer to build and evolve the core of the Skydio Simulator — a high-fidelity, real-time digital replica of the physical world used both by customers and by Skydio’s autonomy engineers every day. In this role, you will work deep in the simulator stack: from physics and sensor simulation, to hardware emulation, to the core architecture that runs our full autonomy software in simulation. You will help define how simulated worlds behave, how vehicles perceive and interact with them, and how closely simulation mirrors reality.

Responsibilities

• Core Simulator Architecture: Design, implement, and evolve the foundational architecture of the Skydio Simulator, ensuring it scales across vehicle types, environments, and use cases.
• Physics and Dynamics: Improve and extend physics models governing vehicle motion, interactions with the environment, and dynamic agents.
• Sensor and Hardware Simulation: Build high-fidelity simulations of cameras, IMUs, and other onboard components, including timing, noise characteristics, and hardware behavior.
• Autonomy Stack Integration: Run and validate the full Skydio autonomy stack in simulation, ensuring consistency between simulated and real-world behavior.
• Feature Development on Top of the Core: Implement simulator capabilities that unlock new workflows for customers and internal autonomy engineers, from training scenarios to advanced testing modes.
• Performance and Fidelity: Profile, optimize, and improve simulator performance while continuously pushing realism and accuracy.

Requirements

• Strong software engineering experience with C++ and Python.
• Experience building complex systems where performance, determinism, or correctness matter.
• Comfort reasoning about time-synchronized systems, state machines, or real-time execution.
• Ability to work in a large, evolving codebase with multiple stakeholders.
• Interest in robotics, simulation, or physical systems (prior robotics experience is a plus, not a requirement).

Nice to have

• Robotics, simulation, game engines, or real-time systems.
• Physics engines, sensor modeling, or hardware abstraction layers.
• Multithreaded or low-latency system design.
• Experience debugging systems that span software and physical behavior.