Senior Robotic Hardware Engineer (Drone Stack)

Join Applied as a Senior Robotic Hardware Engineer specializing in drone systems, based in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. This full-time position bridges cutting-edge hardware design and intelligent software to bring autonomous flight systems from lab to operation.

Position Summary

As a Senior Robotic Hardware Engineer focused on the drone stack at Applied, you'll lead the critical integration of flight hardware, autopilot systems, and ground control software. Your work will directly impact autonomous vehicles across defense, aerospace, and commercial sectors. You'll take responsibility for validating flight-ready systems from initial bench testing through field operations, ensuring seamless communication between autopilot firmware, onboard compute platforms, and sensor networks. This role demands both technical depth in embedded systems and the systems-thinking needed to navigate tradeoffs across firmware performance, autonomous capabilities, and physical hardware constraints.

What You'll Do

• Oversee hardware-software integration and system validation from prototype through flight operations
• Design communication interfaces spanning flight controllers, payloads, ground stations, and compute modules
• Build and scale Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) and Software-in-the-Loop (SIL) test environments with realistic sensor and vehicle simulation
• Create automated verification workflows that reduce iteration cycles and enable rapid validation of system changes
• Develop custom monitoring and data-analysis tools to extract meaningful insights from complex flight test results
• Serve as the technical bridge between guidance-navigation-control teams, embedded software developers, and hardware designers
• Lead hands-on troubleshooting during flight test campaigns to resolve integration challenges
• Establish design patterns and hardware abstraction standards that ensure maintainable, scalable flight software

Who We're Looking For

• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, or equivalent technical discipline
• 5+ years of hands-on experience with robotics hardware integration, embedded systems development, or aerospace engineering
• Deep familiarity with vehicle electronics stacks: autopilot systems, onboard compute (NVIDIA Jetson, Raspberry Pi), and sensor integration
• Strong programming ability in C++ and Python, including experience writing drivers and hardware abstraction layers
• Practical knowledge of real-time communication protocols: CAN, UART, I2C, SPI, MAVLink
• Proven success designing, building, and operating Hardware-in-the-Loop test infrastructure for autonomous systems
• Demonstrated track record bringing complex robotics platforms from bench prototyping to successful field or flight deployment
• Excellent troubleshooting instincts and ability to collaborate effectively across technical teams
• U.S. Citizenship required; must hold or be eligible for a U.S. Secret security clearance

About Applied

Applied powers physical intelligence for autonomous vehicles across automotive, defense, aerospace, construction, mining, and agriculture. Trusted by 18 of the world's top 20 automakers and the U.S. military, Applied provides the digital infrastructure, operating systems, and autonomy software that bring intelligence to machines that move. With engineering teams spanning Sunnyvale, San Diego, Fort Walton Beach, Ann Arbor, London, Stuttgart, and key innovation hubs worldwide, Applied is building the foundation for the next generation of autonomous systems.

Next Steps

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