Flight Research Guidance and Mission Management Software Engineer

Flight Research Guidance and Mission Management Software Engineer Job Locations US-CA-Santa Cruz | US-CA-Santa Cruz ID 2026-5355 Category Flight Research Type Regular Full-Time Company Overview Joby Flight Research designs, develops, and flight-tests novel aircraft using a software-first autonomy approach. We build and deploy autonomy, perception, planning, and radar systems across conventional, electric, and hydrogen-electric aircraft in both CTOL and VTOL configurations. Overview Joby's Flight Research group is looking for a skilled software engineer to play a pivotal role in the development of cutting-edge flight automation and decision-making systems across an array of novel aircraft configurations. We are a small, close-knit and agile team; the engineer will work closely with other software/GNC engineers to develop trajectory planning, decision making algorithms, and mission planning tools to enable airborne autonomy. The engineer will be expected to deliver high quality flight software, act with agency, and be capable of picking up a wide variety of tasks. Responsibilities Deliver high quality and robust flight software (C++) for VTOL and CTOL aircraft Contribute heavily to the development of a library of trajectory planning and decision making algorithms. (C++/Python) Formulate test plans to demonstrate robustness and performance of solutions Directly support flight testing of various aircraft platforms as a required crewmember in a remote ground station Collaborate closely with the rest of the software & controls team to ideate, plan, and execute on high quality, well integrated solutions Required 5+ years of experience in a related field BS in Aerospace or related field Understanding of trajectory planning, and decision making algorithms and their runtime complexity Experience writing real-time and safety-critical C++ flight software Experience developing simulation and tools for testing trajectory planning algorithms Experience writing C++ and Python in a professional environment This position must meet US export control compliance requirements, therefore a candidate must qualify as a “US Person” as defined by 22 C.F.R. § 120.15. “US Person” includes US Citizens, lawful permanent residents, refugees, or asylees. Desired Experience developing real time trajectory planning algorithms for both CTOL and VTOL aircraft Experience developing Monte-Carlo Simulation based test frameworks to quantitatively analyze the worst case run time performance for onboard trajectory planning algorithms Experience building decision making or automated reasoning systems Experience with multi-agent systems Compensation at Joby is a combination of base pay and Restricted Stock Units (RSUs). The target base pay for this position is $136,100 - $202,600/yr. The compensation package will be determined by job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Joby also offers a comprehensive benefits package, including paid time off, healthcare benefits, a 401(k) plan with a company match, an employee stock purchase plan (ESPP), short-term and long-term disability coverage, life insurance, and more. Additional Information Joby Aviation is an equal opportunity employer. Options Apply for this job online Apply Share Sorry the Share function is not working properly at this moment. Please refresh the page and try again later. Share on your newsfeed If you have questions about our online applications, please see our application FAQ.