Senior Software Engineer - Rust
Defense UnicornsRemotePosted 26 March 2026
Job Description
About the Role
We are seeking a mission-driven Rust Software Engineer to build resilient software systems that enable human-machine-AI teaming and autonomous capabilities for military operators at the tactical edge.
In this role, you will design and implement high-performance systems in Rust that operate in constrained, contested environments. You will contribute across the full system lifecycle — from architecture and hardware integration through simulation, testing, and field deployment.
You will work alongside engineers, researchers, and operators to develop systems that fuse sensing, autonomy, and decision support while ensuring traceable, deterministic builds and reliable deployments in mission-critical environments.
This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy systems programming, autonomy, and solving real-world problems for national security missions.
Responsibilities
Design and implement high-performance, distributed, software systems in Rust, targeting cloud-native as well as resource-constrained and edge computing environments
Participate in system architecture, network topologies, hardware part evaluation, and engineering reviews for both existing product revisions and new systems
Develop software/models systems that supports human-in-the-loop and human-on-the-loop autonomy workflows for distributed operations
Build infrastructure enabling deterministic builds, reproducible environments, and configuration management to ensure traceability and maintainability
Implement and maintain systems with over-the-air (OTA) update mechanisms for field-deployed systems - virtual machines, containers, and embedded packages
Integrate software with microcontroller peripherals and hardware buses (SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, USB, AXI, etc.)
Develop and execute comprehensive experiment and test strategies including:
Unit testing
Software-in-the-Loop (SITL)
Hardware-in-the-Loop (HITL)
Functional, end-to-end system/field/scale testing
Collaborate with mission heroes and multidisciplinary teams to deploy and sustain systems, supporting integration and various exercises and operational events
Optimize systems for performance, reliability, power consumption, and maintainability
Required Qualifications
Professional experience in software engineering, embedded systems, or firmware development - delivering production-grade product
Strong proficiency in Rust - experience in low-level, embedded or no_std environments a bonus
Experience integrating with microcontroller peripherals and hardware interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, USB, etc.)
Familiarity with software design, algorithm implementation, debugging/testing/profiling, and performance optimization
Working knowledge of:
Distributed systems, data-distribution and network architectures
Networking protocols and technologies (TCP/UDP, BLE/LoRa, routing)
Trust systems, certificate management, and encryption schemes
Modern data patterns, CRDTs, offline-first, synchronization/replication
Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate across engineering disciplines
U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret / SCI security clearance
Preferred Qualifications
Experience developing autonomy, robotics, or human-machine-AI teaming systems
Experience applying machine learning techniques, including supervised/unsupervised learning, clustering, and classification
Experience with software-defined radio, MANET, and industrial/robotics communications systems
Experience optimizing systems for speed, size, power consumption, and cost
Experience contributing to open-source projects or industry standards bodies
Experience deploying systems in contested or disconnected edge environments
What You’ll Work On
Distributed autonomy platforms that assist operators in decision-making and mission execution
Human-machine-AI collaboration systems operating around the globe
Real-time sensor integration, edge processing, and data distribution
Robust deplo ... (truncated, view full listing at source)
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