Lead Integration Engineer

UAV Software Integration Lead | Remote (DC/VA/MD preferred) | $180,000–$250,000 + equityHow do you get software to perform exactly as it needs to, on an unmanned platform you've never touched, running hardware you didn't spec, in the most challenging physical environments?If that question sounds more interesting, keep reading.What this could mean for youYou'd be one of the first technical hires on the ground in the US for a company building GPS-denied navigation software for drone OEMs and autonomous systems integrators.Their software runs on Android and Linux-based edge devices embedded into unmanned platforms operating in GPS-contested environments. It needs to work reliably on hardware it wasn't designed for, integrated into platforms built by someone else, in conditions that don't cooperate.There's no playbook to inherit. No process to follow. No senior engineer above you on the US side setting the direction. What you build becomes the standard. The people hired after you will work to it.Within 6–12 months, you won't be doing the same job you started in. That's how the person leading this built every early team he's run before. One of his previous solutions engineers was running the entire technical integrations function within two years.The progression path exists. All you need to do is walk it.What you'd actually be doingYou'd own the technical relationship with US partners end to end, joining early commercial conversations as the subject matter expert, becoming the primary point of contact the moment an integration begins, and working directly with the partner's engineering team until the software is live on their platform.How quickly customer numbers grows depends largely on how well you perform. That's a meaningful amount of leverage for one person.You'd also build the onboarding process itself becayse the documentation, the frameworks, the repeatable systems that don't exist yet. That's the systems-building part of this that separates it from pure delivery.You'd travel up to 25% (customer sites, test ranges, field demonstrations). And in your first 3 months, you'd spend time overseas with the core engineering team for a proper technology transfer.A couple of honest things before we go furtherThis is an early-stage company.There's no established team to onboard you and 12 months from now, you'll likely be in bigger jobIf ambiguity is unsettling rather than energising, this probably isn't the right moveBut if you've been waiting for a role where the lack of structure is the point rather than the problem, that changes things.What you'd bringThe engineers who will thrive in this role come from environments where software has to work on physical hardware in the real world, not just pass tests in a lab. Think flight controllers, autopilot systems, ground control software, embedded control systems, or autonomy stacks on unmanned platforms.If your work has involved getting software to behave correctly on a specific piece of hardware in a constrained environment, you're in the right territory.More specifically:You've integrated software into unmanned or autonomous platforms, working directly with a partner or customer's engineering team to get it live, not just building software internallyYou've debugged real integration failures under pressure, not just written code and handed it overYou're comfortable in Linux and embedded environments and you understand what it means to deploy software onto a resource-constrained edge device (managing processing load, memory constraints, and hardware interfaces rather than spinning up another cloud instance).You have genuine hands-on experience with the software stack that controls physical systems, whether that's flight control software, autopilot integration, GCS development, or embedded control systems on unmanned platforms. Application software engineers without this background will find the environment unfamiliar.Android or mobile development experience is a meaningful advantage. That's the environment the software currently runs on.You've worked in front of defense or federal customers and you know what operating in that environment requires. The credibility it demands, the communication standard it sets, and the difference between a technically correct answer and one that actually lands.US citizenship required. No active clearance needed now, but you'd need to be clearable.Why this company, why nowThe company is publicly traded. Their books are audited quarterly and the equity on offer has a real market price, not a theoretical exit valuation contingent on something that may never happen.Their software is already fielded in active GPS-contested environments. This isn't a pilot programme.The US CEO built a former autonomous systems operation from zero to 40 people over five years. He joined because he believes in what they're building. A capital raise planned for later this year will formally move the company's centre of gravity to the US.What nextYou don't need an updated resume at this stage. Send a message explaining what caught your attention, that's enough to start the conversation. Everyone who gets in touch will get a response within five working days.