Senior Robotics Software Engineer

Who We Are Sphere Defense is a fully funded technology startup with the mission of providing allied countries with sovereign, effective and seamless autonomous countermeasures to neutralize todays’ and tomorrow’s aerial threats.

Who We Are Sphere Defense is a fully funded technology startup with the mission of providing allied countries with sovereign, effective and seamless autonomous countermeasures to neutralize todays’ and tomorrow’s aerial threats.

Sphere Defense was founded by industry veterans with previous successful exits, and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium, in the heart of Europe.

About You You are an experienced and highly motivated

Senior Robotics Engineer

that has worked with autonomous systems with visual perception. Ideally, you have worked on flying vehicles.

What You’ll Do You will shape the software & perception architecture, design and implementation for our autonomous, flying countermeasures.

Be one of the first members of a high-performing team, designing and developing autonomous countermeasures to protect allied countries from aerial threats

Own, design, develop, document and test high-performant and reliable autonomous systems, design and implement algorithms and software running on resource-constrained devices (Linux-based)

Identify, integrate and test sensors, including cameras, for autonomous flying countermeasures

Build high-fidelity simulations and digital twins for offline and online scenarios

Be hands-on, working close to the hardware when needed during development and tests

Establish CI/CD pipelines for non-regression testing and automated builds

Draft and review documentation and design documents

Be a team player and a mentor, being available to support and grow the team when needed

Location Onsite in Brussels, Belgium

Reports to Chief Technology Officer

Requirements

Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Robotics, Mechatronics, Control Systems, Computer Science or equivalent

Demonstrated experience in the role, with significant ownership of one or more subsystems of complex, robotics products

Proficiency with C++ for production systems and Python for prototypes

Experience with ROS2 or other middleware

Proficiency with state estimation techniques, perception, sensor fusion and autonomy

Experience using simulation and visualization environments for robotics (Rviz, Foxglove, Gazebo, etc.)

Exposure to electro-mechanical systems integration

Ability to quickly prototype independently, using off-the-shelf electronic components/boards and 3D printed components

Excellent interpersonal communication skills in written and spoken English; French or Dutch is a plus

You are a self-starter, able to work in a high-ambiguity environment and willing to take up new challenges

Preferred Qualifications

Proficient with Rust

Experience with the PX4 flight controller or other flight controllers

Experience selecting sensors (thermal, RGB cameras, laser rangefinders, IMUs, etc.) and actuators (servo motors, geared motors)

Experience with drones, missiles, rockets or other flying vehicles

Experience with one of the following: VIO/SLAM, ML model training, reinforcement learning

What we offer We are building a core team of hard-working people. If you want to join a company with tremendous impact and you are autonomous, creative and driven, we want to hear from you

Sphere Defense offers attractive compensation, stock options (depending on geography and position) and a unique opportunity to change the global defense landscape.