Senior Software Engineer - Autonomous Systems

The Role

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join a customer-facing product engineering team focused on developing advanced Command and Control (C2) and Agentic Autonomy Software for Autonomous Systems for use in operational and tactical missions. This role involves building, integrating, and deploying state-of-the-art software solutions that combine sensors, actuators, unmanned vehicles, and intelligent decision-making systems including self-hosted and commercial LLMs to enable users to employ and manage robotic and autonomous systems across a variety of mission sets. You will work alongside other experts in sensing, artificial intelligence, physics and simulations, user experience, and edge system engineering to build and deliver solutions that redefine complex military and civilian mission scenarios in the real world.

As a part of this team, you will contribute directly to the development of cloud and edge software to command and control autonomous systems, including interfacing with onboard sensors (radar, cameras, RF, and other modalities) and real-time kinetic and non-kinetic systems for individual and swarms of systems. You will work alongside other experts in sensing, artificial intelligence, and systems engineering to shape solutions that redefine complex area defense scenarios.

Core Responsibilities

• Design, implement, and optimize software for mission-critical autonomous systems using modern technologies and methodologies
• Develop algorithms to process data from heterogeneous sensors for real-time state estimation and threat detection
• Build LLM and AI-driven systems capable of assessing threats and rapidly making decisions to deploy responses to those threats
• Develop integrations with a range of sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms
• Engineer scalable, reliable, and fail-safe systems capable of functioning in high-stakes environments
• Partner with multidisciplinary teams, including robotics experts, hardware engineers, and system integrators, to deliver integrated solutions

What We Value

• Proven experience in software development for autonomous systems, embedded systems, or robotics
• Knowledge of AI/ML, sensor processing, or swarm behaviors is highly desirable
• Knowledge of LLM toolchains and implementation of agents into complex real time data workflows
• Ability to manage complexity, optimize for performance, and think critically under pressure
• Experience deploying and maintaining robust production systems

What We Require

• 5+ years of professional software development experience
• 2+ years of experience contributing to the system design or architecture (architecture, design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems
• 2+ years of experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team
• Strong proficiency in Rust, Python, C++, or Java
• Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or related fields
• Active US Security clearance or eligibility and willingness to obtain a US Security clearance

Salary

The estimated salary range for this position is estimated to be $145,000 - $200,000/year. Total compensation for this position may also include Restricted Stock units, sign-on bonus and other potential future incentives. Further note that total compensation for this position will be determined by each individual’s relevant qualifications, work experience, skills, and other factors. This estimate excludes the value of any potential sign-on bonus; the value of any benefits offered; and the potential future value of any long-term incentives.

Benefits

• Employees (and their eligible dependents) can enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as voluntary life insurance
• Employees are automatically covered by Palantir’s basic life, AD&D and disability insurance
• Commuter benefits
• Relocation assistance
• Take what you need paid time off, not accrual based
• 2 weeks paid time off built into the end of each year (subject to team and business needs)
• 10 paid holidays throughout the calendar year
• Supportive leave of absence program including time off for military service and medical events
• Paid leave for new parents and subsidized back-up care for all parents
• Fertility and family building benefits including but not limited to adoption, surrogacy, and preservation
• Stipend to help with expenses that come with a new child
• Employees can enroll in Palantir’s 401k plan

Life at Palantir

In keeping consistent with Palantir’s values and culture, we believe employees are “better together” and in-person work affords the opportunity for more creative outcomes. Therefore, we encourage employees to work from our offices to foster connectivity and innovation. Many teams do offer hybrid options (WFH a day or two a week), allowing our employees to strike the right trade-off for their personal productivity.

Based on business need, there are a few roles that allow for “Remote” work on an exceptional basis. If you are applying for one of these roles, you must work from the state in which you are employed. If the posting is specified as Onsite, you are required to work from an office.