Software Engineer - Simulation & Robotics Engineer

Areas of Responsibility

Core Simulator Architecture

• Design, implement, and evolve the foundational architecture of the Skydio Simulator, ensuring it scales across vehicle types, environments, and use cases.

Physics and Dynamics

• Improve and extend physics models governing vehicle motion, interactions with the environment, and dynamic agents.

Sensor and Hardware Simulation

• Build high-fidelity simulations of cameras, IMUs, and other onboard components, including timing, noise characteristics, and hardware behavior.

Autonomy Stack Integration

• Run and validate the full Skydio autonomy stack in simulation, ensuring consistency between simulated and real-world behavior.

Feature Development on Top of the Core

• Implement simulator capabilities that unlock new workflows for customers and internal autonomy engineers, from training scenarios to advanced testing modes.

Performance and Fidelity

• Profile, optimize, and improve simulator performance while continuously pushing realism and accuracy.

What You’ll Do

• Develop core simulator components in C++ and Python, working close to real-time constraints.
• Collaborate with autonomy, perception, and controls engineers to align simulation behavior with real-world systems.
• Debug complex interactions between physics, sensors, autonomy logic, and rendering.
• Help shape the long-term technical direction of the simulator as both a product and an internal platform.
• Contribute to documentation and shared understanding of how the simulator works internally.

Qualifications

• Strong software engineering experience with C++ and Python.
• Experience building complex systems where performance, determinism, or correctness matter.
• Comfort reasoning about time-synchronized systems, state machines, or real-time execution.
• Ability to work in a large, evolving codebase with multiple stakeholders.
• Interest in robotics, simulation, or physical systems (prior robotics experience is a plus, not a requirement).

Bonus Experience

• Robotics, simulation, game engines, or real-time systems.
• Physics engines, sensor modeling, or hardware abstraction layers.
• Multithreaded or low-latency system design.
• Experience debugging systems that span software and physical behavior.

Compensation

• Annual base salary range: $170,000 - $240,000.
• Equity in the form of stock options.
• Comprehensive benefits: group health insurance, paid vacation, sick leave, holiday pay, 401K savings plan.
• Relocation assistance may be provided.