Senior Guidance Engineer (Control) (All Genders)

<p><span style="font-size:14px;">STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionizing the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop and manufacture high performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost effective. This provides our operators with a decisive edge in highly contested environments.</span></p><span style="font-size:14px;"><br></span><p><span style="font-size:14px;">We're focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems - not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe - today.</span></p>

<p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:12pt;"><span style="font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Reporting directly to the Head of the Control Team, the Senior Guidance Engineer will drive the development of GNSS-denied navigation, guidance, and terminal autonomy for unmanned aerial systems. This role is central to enabling reliable autonomous operations in contested and degraded environments, from perception-driven navigation to closed-loop terminal guidance.</span></p>

<ul><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:12pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Design, develop, and validate navigation, guidance, and control (NGC) algorithms for autonomous drones, with a strong focus on GNSS-denied and degraded-signal environments.<br><br></span></p></li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Develop and implement advanced control, state estimation, and sensor-fusion algorithms, including visual-inertial, inertial-only, or multi-sensor approaches.<br><br></span></p></li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Implement autonomy and control software primarily in C++, leveraging the ROS 2 framework and applying test-driven development (TDD) and modern software engineering best practices.<br><br></span></p></li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Architect, integrate, and maintain a cohesive ROS 2–based autonomy stack, combining multiple perception, navigation, and control packages into a reliable end-to-end autonomous system.<br><br></span></p></li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Interface the autonomy stack with flight control systems via MAVLink, enabling robust command, telemetry, and state feedback between onboard autonomy and the autopilot.<br><br></span></p></li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Deploy, optimize, and validate autonomy software on the NVIDIA Jetson platform, accounting for real-time constraints, hardware acceleration, and power limitations.<br><br></span></p></li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Perform extensive simulation, bench testing, and flight testing, including debugging complex interactions between perception, navigation, and control layers.<br><br></span></p></li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:0pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Produce and maintain high-quality technical documentation covering algorithms, software architecture, testing procedures, and system behavior.<br><br></span></p></li><li style="list-style-type:disc;font-size:14px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;"><p style="line-height:1.38;margin-top:0pt;margin-bottom:12pt;"><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">Collaborate closely with control, autopilot, AI, hardware, and systems engineering teams to ensure seamless system integration and mission readiness.<br></span></p></li></ul>

<ul><li><p><span style="color:rgb(0,0,0);background-color:transparent;font-weight:400;font-style:normal;text-decoration:none;">B</span><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">achelor's or Master's degree in Robotics, Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a closely related discipline.<br></span></p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Professional experience in autonomous systems, navigation, guidance, control, or robotics software development.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Advanced proficiency in C/C++, with strong software design, debugging, and performance-optimization skills.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Proven experience developing autonomy software using ROS 2, including node design, lifecycle management, and inter-process communication.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Solid background in embedded systems, real-time constraints, and deployment on resource-constrained hardware.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Hands-on experience integrating autonomy stacks with MAVLink-based autopilots.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Strong understanding of navigation and control theory, including state estimation, sensor fusion, and closed-loop guidance.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Experience deploying and optimizing software on NVIDIA Jetson platforms.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Excellent problem-solving skills, autonomy, and the ability to operate effectively in a high-ownership, fast-moving startup environment.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Strong communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work across multidisciplinary teams.</p></li></ul><h3><span style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;">Nice to Have</span></h3><ul><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Experience with PX4 or ArduPilot autopilot ecosystems.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Background in GNSS-denied navigation, visual navigation, terrain-relative navigation, or terminal guidance systems.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Familiarity with computer vision or perception-driven autonomy.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Experience in defense, aerospace, or safety-critical autonomous systems.</p></li><li style="font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;font-size:14px;"><p>Prior involvement in flight testing and real-world deployment of autonomous drones.</p></li></ul><br>If you´re intersted in building the future of European Defence with us, and you see yourself reflected in the description above, please send us your <strong><u>CV in English.</u></strong> We´re looking forward to meeting you!