Senior Software Engineer – Infra & Mission Control (640467)

Company Description

Spear, founded in 2017 and based in Tel Aviv, develops and manufactures the Viper family of advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) for leading defence forces.

As the leading system house in Israel for tactical UAS focusing both on the battalion echelon and submarines, we provide end-to-end system development from concept and design through integration and field testing - delivering AI-powered loitering systems that give any combat unit an “inherent air force” with minimal training.

Our multidisciplinary teams work across hardware, software, computer vision, artificial intelligence, communications, navigation, motion control, and electro-mechanics.

As we continue to grow rapidly, we are looking for talented team players to join our success.

Job Description:

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced Software Engineer to architect and scale our Infrastructure & Mission Control software stack. In this role, you will be a key contributor to the "brains" of our systems, bridging the gap between high-level autonomy and low-level flight execution.

You will own, develop, and optimize critical features across two main pillars:

• Mission Control: Building our Ground Control Station (GCS), mission computer stacks, autonomy co-pilots, and safety-critical flight control integrations.
• Infrastructure: Developing deterministic test and validation frameworks, cloud-based telemetry analysis, and robust CI/CD pipelines for hardware-in-the-loop (HITL) validation.

In this position, you will work in close collaboration with cross-functional teams such as Vision & GNC, Systems Engineering, Flight Operations, and Product, to deliver reliable, scalable, and operationally effective software.

Responsibilities:

• Mission Logic & C2: Architect ground and airborne mission logic to support complex autonomous operations.
• HMI Excellence: Develop performant, low-latency, and intuitive Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) for real-time UAV command and control.
• Flight Stack Integration: Deeply integrate with flight control software to ensure seamless telemetry and command execution.
• Validation Infrastructure: Build and maintain deterministic validation infrastructure across software and hardware iterations, including automation, tooling, and test workflows.
• Embedded & Real-Time: Develop the embedded software stack, including Hardware Abstraction Layers and real-time application logic.
• Protocol Design: Design and optimize robust communication protocols (e.g., MAVLink, Protobuf) for real-time data exchange over serial and wireless links.

Requirements:

• B.Sc./M.Sc. in CS, EE, or a related field with 6+ years of experience in Real-Time Embedded C/C++ and complex distributed systems.
• Proven background in defense, aerospace, or robotics, with experience building complex, mission-critical systems.
• Proficiency in ARM architecture / bare-metal and Linux environments, multi-threading, and low-level hardware protocols (SPI, I2C, CAN).
• Skilled in engineering for performance-critical, memory-constrained environments while ensuring strict system determinism.
• Strong command of OOP design patterns and scalable architecture for Mission Control, C2 systems, and Python-based backends.
• Advanced skills in hardware-software integration, protocol analysis (MAVLink/Protobuf), and complex log-based forensic debugging.
• Proven experience with low-latency telemetry, distributed systems, or edge device development using modern frameworks.

Advantages:

• UAV simulation (SITL/HITL): Experience building and using simulation environments (e.g., Unreal Engine, Gazebo) for deterministic testing, autonomy validation, and hardware bring-up.
• Autopilot & robotics stacks: Familiarity with ArduPilot, PX4, and/or the ROS/ROS2 ecosystem.
• MAVLink & comms: Strong working knowledge of MAVLink and real-time links over UART, UDP, and TCP.
• Safety-critical embedded: Experience with RTOS, modern embedded C++17/20, and/or safety-critical software standards.