Senior Software Developer – Flight Control Systems

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Company Description

Drones Tech Lab™ is a leader in India's unmanned aerial systems sector, driving innovation in drone design, manufacturing, pilot training, and mission-critical deployments. With a focus on both hardware and simulation excellence, we develop high-performance UAV systems for a range of applications, including surveillance, mapping, defense, and industrial automation. Our in-house R&D and testing capabilities make us a preferred partner for end-to-end drone solutions.

About the Role

Senior Software Developer – Flight Control Systems

You’ll work with cross-disciplinary teams in avionics, systems integration, and testing to architect, build, and validate robust and scalable flight control solutions. If you have a passion for autonomous flight, safety-critical embedded systems, and driving innovation in aerial robotics, this role offers immense impact and leadership opportunity.

Responsibilities

• Architect and develop embedded flight software for UAV autopilot systems including stabilization, navigation, and control (GNC) layers
• Customize and extend open-source autopilot stacks like PX4 or ArduPilot, or contribute to in-house frameworks
• Implement and optimize real-time control algorithms, sensor fusion, and fault-tolerant behaviors
• Design software modules for autonomous mission logic, fail-safe handling, and dynamic control tasks
• Work with avionics teams to integrate IMUs, GPS, airspeed sensors, barometers, and custom payloads
• Drive software validation through HIL/SIL simulation, bench tests, and live field testing
• Collaborate with systems engineers to ensure conformance to safety, modularity, and testability standards
• Lead peer code reviews, maintain documentation, and define software lifecycle processes
• Mentor junior developers and actively participate in architectural decisions across flight systems

Qualifications

• 8–12 years of experience in embedded or real-time systems development, with at least 5 years in aerospace, UAV, robotics, or similar domains
• Bachelor’s/Master’s in Computer Science, Electronics, Aerospace Engineering, or related field
• Strong proficiency in

  C/C++ (modern C++ preferred)

  and real-time programming
• Expertise with

  RTOS environments

  such as NuttX, FreeRTOS, or ChibiOS
• Experience with

  PX4, ArduPilot

  , or equivalent open-source autopilot platforms
• Solid understanding of

  GNC algorithms

  , PID control, and state estimation (EKF, complementary filtering)
• Familiarity with communication protocols like

  MAVLink, UART, I2C, SPI, CAN

• Exposure to software testing pipelines including

  SIL, HIL, CI/CD

  , and mission-level QA
• Excellent debugging skills and use of tools like oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, or telemetry logs

Desirable Skills & Interests

• Contributions to open-source UAV projects (e.g., PX4, ArduPilot)
• Understanding of

  UAV flight dynamics

  , mission planning tools (QGroundControl, Mission Planner)
• Experience with

  ROS2, Python

  , or simulation environments like Gazebo or AirSim
• Knowledge of

  aerospace safety standards

  such as DO-178C, ISO 26262, or in-house QMS
• Familiarity with Git workflows, Jira, Confluence, and agile/iterative development cycles

Skills

PX4, ArduPilot, Embedded C/C++, Flight Control Systems, GNC, UAV Firmware, RTOS, MAVLink, EKF, PID Tuning, Sensor Fusion, Real-Time Systems, UAV Autonomy, SITL/HIL, Aerospace Software, UAV Safety, ROS2, System Architecture

Benefits

• Competitive compensation with performance-linked growth
• Autonomy to lead technical architecture and embedded innovation
• Field exposure and mission-critical development on next-gen UAVs
• Collaborate with experts across avionics, simulation, and systems
• Contribute to one of India’s fastest-growing UAV engineering labs

Join Our Team

If you’re passionate about autonomous flight, precision control systems, and building reliable aerial platforms, Drones Tech Lab™ invites you to architect the brains behind the next generation of intelligent UAVs.