Software Development Engineer

Salary: £47,250 - 52,500 per year

• We require sole UK nationals or dual nationals who have lived and worked in the UK for the past 5 years.
• We are looking for around 4–7 years of commercial experience.
• Strong software engineering capability is more important to us than an aerospace background.
• You should be comfortable taking ownership of technical work packages and mentoring or directing more junior engineers.
• Strong programming skills in C, C++, MATLAB, and Python are highly desirable.
• Experience with autonomous systems, control systems, systems engineering, algorithm development, modelling and simulation, and software development for complex engineering systems is essential.
• Experience in UAVs, UAS, drone technologies, decision support systems, military aviation, flight control, or guidance, navigation and control is highly desirable.
• We would ideally like a background in Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Physics, Applied Mathematics, or Computer Science with strong engineering exposure.
• A PhD relevant to autonomy or autonomous air systems would be attractive, provided you also have some commercial experience.

• We will have you design, develop, model, integrate, and test autonomous control systems for crewed and uncrewed aircraft.
• You will solve complex real-world engineering problems through production-quality software.
• You will take ownership of technical work packages.
• You may mentor or provide technical direction to more junior engineers.
• You will work within multidisciplinary teams on leading-edge defence technology.

• Support
• Matlab
• Python
• AI
• C++
• Machine Learning
• Robotics

More:

We are supporting a global Software, Systems and Engineering company in the Defence sector with the appointment of a Software Development Engineer. This is not a traditional software development role; we are looking for engineers who understand the engineering behind autonomous systems and can use software to solve complex real-world problems. The role is based in Farnborough, initially five days onsite, with longer-term hybrid working potentially possible once established. This is a permanent, full-time position with a salary of £47,250–£52,500 plus benefits.

last updated 42 week of 2026