VP Software and Simulation

As the VP of Software & Simulation, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of flight. You will lead the development of the core software systems that will power our autonomous aircraft, from flight control and navigation to energy management and mission planning. This is an opportunity to work on the bleeding edge of technology, pushing the boundaries of what's possible in aviation.

Due to the nature of the work required for this position, this is an onsite opportunity. You will be required to work from our Mountain View office.

You will lead the entire software & firmware development lifecycles, from initial concept and design through rigorous verification and validation. This includes overseeing software architecture, development, testing, integration, and deployment. You will be responsible for ensuring the highest levels of safety, reliability, and performance for all software & firmware systems that power our autonomous aircraft. You will lead an outstanding team of software, firmware and simulation engineers, while also shaping the team for the future. 

Responsibilities:

• Lead the development of cutting-edge software systems: Oversee the design, development, and testing of software & firmware for flight control systems, navigation algorithms, mission planning software, energy management systems, and other safety critical software components.

• Build and lead a world-class software engineering team: Recruit, mentor, and develop a high-performing team of software & firmware engineers, data scientists, and simulation specialists. Foster a collaborative and innovative environment that encourages creativity and problem-solving.

• Develop and maintain high-fidelity simulation, test and data management environments: Lead the development and maintenance of simulation environments for testing and validating software systems.

• Lead full lifecycle toolchain: Lead and scale our software infrastructure. This includes leading the development and implementation of a robust software toolchain, including efficient and reliable CI/CD pipelines to accelerate the development, testing, and deployment of software, ensuring rapid iteration and continuous improvement. Lead the design and implementation of the data management toolchain. Lead and implement AI capabilities in our software toolchain to support efficient, rapid development and testing.

• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams: Work closely with hardware engineers, aerodynamics experts, and other stakeholders to ensure seamless integration of software and hardware systems. You will support the integration of real-time simulation models in hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) systems test environments and support the hardware/software integration activities.

• Drive innovation in autonomous flight: Stay abreast of the latest advancements in high integrity, real-time robotics systems and other relevant technologies to continuously improve the performance and capabilities of our aircraft. 

• Ensure safety and compliance: Develop and implement robust safety and quality assurance processes to ensure the highest levels of safety and reliability for our autonomous aircraft.

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of proven experience leading and managing high-performing software engineering teams in a fast-paced and demanding environment.

• Deep understanding of software & firmware for flight control systems, navigation algorithms, and other safety critical components for autonomous aircraft or other high integrity systems. Examples include aerospace, electric vehicles, autonomous driving, robotics, or other relevant industries.

• Expertise in software development methodologies, including Agile and DevOps.

• Deep and applied knowledge of complex, modern software stacks.

• Experience building or using simulation environments to test software.

• Excellent communication, collaboration, and leadership skills.

Technical Expertise (Desired):

• Real-Time Systems: Embedded systems programming, real-time operating systems (RTOS), data acquisition and processing.

• Simulation & Modeling: High-fidelity real-time simulation environments, physics-based modeling, system identification, validation and verification.

• Software Toolchain Development: Experience with build systems (e.g., CMake, Bazel), version control systems (e.g., Git), code review tools, and continuous integration/continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipelines.

• Control Systems: Robust control algorithms (PID, LQR, MPC), nonlinear control theory, fault detection and isolation, control allocation.

• Autonomous Flight Algorithms: Experience with path planning algorithms (e.g., A*, RRT*), motion planning, obstacle avoidance, and trajectory optimization.

• Cloud Computing: Experience with cloud computing platforms for software development, testing, and deployment.

• Data Analysis & Visualization: Experience with data analysis and visualization tools for test data analysis, performance monitoring, and debugging.