Senior Software Engineer (Ground Control Station)

Job Title

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Company Description

Drones Tech Lab™

About the Role

Senior Software Engineer

You’ll play a core role in building the brain of the drone ecosystem – a robust, scalable, and intuitive software platform used by drone pilots and mission planners. You will work closely with avionics, UI/UX designers, hardware integrators and test pilots to deliver an operationally ready system for real-time deployments.

If you are passionate about building control software that interacts with real-world autonomous systems and thrives in low-latency, mission-critical environments, this is your role.

Responsibilities

• Architect, design and develop GCS software from scratch for multi-role drones used in defence and industrial missions.
• Implement modules for telemetry parsing, mission planning, payload control (e.g., EO/IR camera), geospatial visualization and video streaming.
• Design and integrate features such as waypoint navigation, flight path visualization and real-time status dashboards.
• Build and optimize communication with UAVs over MAVLink, UDP/TCP and serial protocols.
• Integrate third-party libraries for map rendering, GIS overlays, and mission replay tools.
• Coordinate closely with avionics teams to test and validate software performance in real-world flight scenarios.
• Lead backend architecture (data handling, logging, mission history) and frontend integration with UI/UX designers.
• Ensure the software meets MIL-SPEC-level reliability, safety, and failover capabilities.
• Document APIs, code architecture, and communication protocols for future scalability and certification purposes.

Qualifications

• 3 to 8 years of hands-on experience in software development, preferably in UAVs, robotics, aerospace, or automotive control systems.
• Strong command of

  C++

  ,

  Python

  , and/or

  Qt/QML

  for cross-platform application development.
• Proven experience in developing

  real-time control applications

  , telemetry systems, or mission-critical software.
• Familiarity with UAV protocols like

  MAVLink

  , and integration experience with

  PX4

  or

  ArduPilot

  .
• Experience working with

  GIS/map rendering

  libraries (e.g., Mapbox, Leaflet, OpenStreetMap).
• Understanding of network programming (UDP/TCP), multi-threading, and embedded system interfaces.
• Knowledge of

  software version control systems

  (e.g., Git) and collaborative development workflows.

Desirable Skills

• Experience developing Ground Control Stations (e.g., QGroundControl, Mission Planner).
• Familiarity with

  ROS

  ,

  GStreamer

  ,

  video decoding

  , and

  RTSP/WebRTC

  streaming.
• Exposure to

  real-time OS

  , fail-safe handling, and event-driven systems.
• Ability to write modular, scalable, and testable code with documentation.
• Experience with

  cross-platform development

  for Linux/Windows systems.
• Understanding of drone operations, payload integration (gimbals, EO/IR), and flight controller logic.

Key Technologies

C++, Python, Qt/QML, MAVLink, PX4, ArduPilot, GIS APIs, GStreamer, RTSP, ROS, TCP/UDP Sockets, Mission Planning, UAV Telemetry, Embedded Interfaces, Real-Time Systems

Benefits

• Competitive compensation based on experience.
• Work on mission-critical defense and industrial UAV systems.
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams in avionics, AI, and mechanical design.
• Ownership of a major subsystem powering field-deployed aerial platforms.
• Opportunities to publish, patent, and certify technology contributions.

Join Our Mission

Drones Tech Lab™