Senior Software Engineer

Job description

Skyways designs, builds, and operates fully autonomous long-range cargo aircraft. Founded in 2017, the company has spent the last eight years developing and deploying autonomous logistics systems for real-world operations. Our V2 aircraft carries 30 lbs up to 500 miles, while our next-generation V3 carries 100 lbs over 1,000+ miles with 20+ hours of endurance. Both use a hybrid-electric architecture that takes off like a helicopter and cruises like a plane, enabling long-range autonomous delivery without traditional runway infrastructure. Today, Skyways aircraft operate across three continents in controlled national airspace under FAA oversight and in support of U.S. military operations. We are transitioning from prototype development to full-rate production and scaling toward large autonomous cargo fleets. Backed by Y Combinator and a $37M AFWERX STRATFI award from the U.S. Air Force, Skyways is creating a new form of transportation to advance our civilization from Austin, Texas. **The Opportunity** This role builds the operational software that powers autonomous flight. You will develop the systems used to monitor aircraft, plan missions, manage fleet operations, and support real-world flight deployments. Your work will directly impact how operators interact with aircraft and how autonomous missions are executed at scale. You will work closely with autonomy, flight operations, and hardware teams to build reliable software that interfaces directly with aircraft systems and operational workflows. The ideal candidate is comfortable moving across frontend, backend, and systems-level software while shipping production-quality tools in fast-moving environments. ### What You'll Do: - Develop software applications and tools that support autonomous aircraft operations and internal engineering workflows - Build frontend and desktop applications for mission planning, telemetry visualization, fleet monitoring, and operational tooling - Develop backend services and infrastructure that interface with aircraft, ground systems, and operational data pipelines - Work across Electron, web, and systems-level software environments - Collaborate closely with autonomy, flight operations, and hardware teams to improve operational software systems - Debug and resolve issues across distributed systems, operational tooling, and deployed software environments - Contribute to software architecture, testing, deployment, and development infrastructure - Improve system reliability, usability, and operational scalability as aircraft deployments grow ### What You'll Bring: - 5+ years of professional software engineering experience building complex production systems. - Experience working on aviation, robotics, autonomy, industrial, simulation, or other real time operational systems. - Experience building mapping, geospatial, or 3D visualization applications. - Strong experience building desktop applications using ElectronJS. - Strong experience with React and modern JavaScript or TypeScript development. - Experience with technologies such as CesiumJS, Three.js, Mapbox, WebGL, or similar visualization frameworks. - Experience working with live telemetry, streaming systems, or operator facing control software. - Strong software engineering fundamentals including system design, debugging, testing, and maintainable architecture. - Ability to work cross functionally with software, robotics, hardware, and operations teams in a fast moving environment. - Comfort working on systems where reliability, clarity, and operational usability matter. ### Bonus Points: - Background in unmanned aviation, aerospace, robotics, or defense systems. - Experience building mission planning or ground control software. - Familiarity with MAVLink, PX4, ROS, or similar robotics and autonomy ecosystems. - Experience with terrain systems, simulation environments, or sensor visualization pipelines. - Experience managing complex frontend state with MobX or similar frameworks. - Experience shipping production software in startup or high ownership environments. - Experience building software for operationally critical or safety conscious systems.