Senior Engineer – Robotics Middleware & Applications

Join Axon and be a Force for Good.

At Axon, we’re on a mission to Protect Life. We’re explorers, pursuing society’s most critical safety and justice issues with our ecosystem of devices and cloud software. Like our products, we work better together. We connect with candor and care, seeking out diverse perspectives from our customers, communities and each other.

Life at Axon is fast-paced, challenging and meaningful. Here, you’ll take ownership and drive real change. Constantly grow as you work hard for a mission that matters at a company where you matter.

Your Impact

The Axon Robotics Middleware & Applications team is part of the Robotics New Ventures Pillar and supports critical Drone offerings for Special Forces and Law Enforcement. These Drones work together harmoniously to provide Tactical Reconnaissance and Advantage during critical and stressful missions. Both aerial and ground robots are developed - see the full product portfolio at: https://www.axon.com/products/axon-sky-hero. We are actively working on truly disruptive, innovative next-generation Drone technology that we strongly believe will advance our mission to Protect Life.

The Robotics Middleware & Applications team owns the Upper Middleware layers on a powerful Embedded Linux System-on-Chip. This means building and maintaining high-performance, reliable Linux daemons and services that orchestrate all business-critical use cases for Robots, including:

• Device cloud registration
• Firmware Updates
• Video Streaming Pipeline
• Video Recording Pipeline
• Logging & Diagnostics
• Robotics use cases and more
• Test Automation for all of the above use cases

Beyond these core responsibilities, this team collaborates very closely with Controls and Vision Engineers to help tune the Drone and contributes to advanced flying and maneuvering capabilities. The team also works closely with Platform BSP, Camera Imaging, Lower Middleware, and Hardware Engineering teams. Rust is the preferred language, but C/C++ is also heavily used. Python is used for scripting and test automation.

As a strong, senior engineer - either level 1 or level 2 - on the Robotics Middleware & Applications team, you'll be responsible for architecting and developing the daemon infrastructure that powers Robot business logic, while also contributing to a culture of engineering excellence through mentorship, design documentation, and best-in-class testing practices.

Working on these next-generation robotics products is not only a career-defining accomplishment, but a real opportunity to help advance the mission to Protect Life.

What You’ll Do 

Location: Scottsdale, AZ, Boston, MA or Seattle WA

This role is based out of our Scottsdale or Boston office or Seattle Office and follows a hybrid schedule. We rely on in-person collaboration and ask that team members work onsite Tuesday through Friday, with some flexibility, unless there is an approved workplace accommodation. We believe that connection fuels innovation, and our in-office culture is designed to foster meaningful teamwork, mentorship, and shared success.

Reports to: Engineering Manager, Robotics Middleware & Applications

• Be part of a high-performing team that designs and develops game-changing Robotics products to Protect Life
• Architect, design and develop Linux user-space daemons that orchestrate all Robot business use cases end-to-end
• Develop in C/C++ and Rust in resource-constrained Embedded Linux environments; use Python for scripting and test automation
• Design and implement performant inter-process communication between daemons and across system boundaries
• Collaborate with Controls Engineers to help tune drone behavior and contribute to advanced flying and maneuvering algorithms
• Integrate Sensors and Actuators, complex logic, and autonomous behavior into middleware services
• Implement Robotics use-cases in ROS2 and custom Robotics Frameworks
• Ensure high quality across the entire product lifecycle - design and implement Unit Tests, Integration Tests, and CI pipelines
• Be hands-on with prototyping, development, and debugging at all stages of the product lifecycle
• Author design documents and technical specifications for middleware systems
• Invest in the growth of those around you - sharing knowledge, raising the engineering bar, and helping build a team culture where excellence, curiosity, and craftsmanship thrive
• Collaborate with distributed Hardware, Software, Firmware, Controls, Manufacturing, and Compliance teams

What You Bring

Candidates with active Robotics experience on mobile phone-like System-on-Chips (SoC) using embedded Linux will be prioritized over those with Microcontroller-only experience. We also prioritize candidates who have shipped a product from start to finish and stayed with it post-release to learn from its in-market performance.

• Bachelor's or Master's Degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Robotics, or equivalent
• Minimum 5+ years of industry experience building commercial products
• Minimum 5+ years of experience with C/C++, Python, and/or Rust
• Demonstrated track record of bringing commercial devices to market
• Strong experience with Linux user-space daemon development and service architecture
• Strong experience with performant inter-process communication (e.g. ZeroMQ, Zenoh, D-Bus, or similar)
• Experience building and owning device lifecycle features such as firmware OTA updates, device pairing, or video pipeline management
• Strong understanding of Systems Architecture, with the ability to implement complex, multi-service, interrelated systems
• Strong understanding of Operating Systems, Concurrency, and Networking concepts
• Strong understanding of CI/CD pipelines and QA processes, including test automation frameworks
• Solid Software Engineering background (algorithms, data structures)
• Engineering with AI: This role's interview process includes an AI-assisted coding loop designed to reflect how we actually build software here. Rather than a traditional whiteboard or solo-coding exercise, you'll work through a problem using an AI coding assistant as a required collaborator - and you'll be evaluated on how you work with it, not just what you produce. Specifically, we're looking for engineers who can: clarify ambiguous requirements before diving into a solution; break problems into well-scoped prompts and iterate when AI output is wrong or incomplete; critically review AI-generated code rather than accepting it at face value; explain the underlying fundamentals (data structures, concurrency, design tradeoffs) of whatever gets built, regardless of who typed it; and bring a real testing and debugging strategy to the table.

We also want to hear about how you've grown your own AI fluency - what you've experimented with on your own initiative, where it's worked, where it hasn't, and what you've learned along the way.

We're not grading for "prompt engineering" skill alone. We're looking for strong software engineers who know how to direct, question, and elevate AI-assisted work - not just accept it.

Any Experience With the Following Is a Plus

• Experience with Robotics simulation tools such as Gazebo
• Experience with Computer Vision techniques (SLAM/VIO), Control systems, or Trajectory Optimization
• Experience with MAVLink, PX4, or similar Flight Controllers
• Experience with ROS2 System Bus
• Experience with video streaming protocols and pipelines (GStreamer, RTSP, WebRTC)
• Experience with the Yocto build system

Benefits that Benefit You

• Competitive salary and 401k with employer match
• Discretionary paid time off
• Paid parental leave for all
• Medical, Dental, Vision plans
• Fitness Programs
• Emotional & Mental Wellness support
• Learning & Development programs
• Employee Resource Groups (ERGs)
• And yes, we have snacks in our offices

Benefits listed herein may vary depending on the nature of your employment and the location where you work.

Axon is a total compensation company, meaning compensation is made up of base pay, bonus, and stock awards. The actual base pay is dependent upon many factors, such as: level, function, training, transferable skills, work experience, business needs, geographic market, and often a combination of all these factors. Our benefits offer an array of options to help support you physically, financially and emotionally through the big milestones and in your everyday life. To see more details on our benefits offerings please visit https://www.axon.com/careers.

Base Pay Range

$141,000—$225,600 USD

Don’t meet every single requirement? That's ok. At Axon, we Aim Far. We think big with a long-term view because we want to reinvent the world to be a safer, better place. We are also committed to building diverse teams that reflect the communities we serve.

Studies have shown that women and people of color are less likely to apply to jobs unless they check every box in the job description. If you’re excited about this role and our mission to Protect Life but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification listed here, we encourage you to apply anyways. You may be just the right candidate for this or other roles.

Important Notes

The above job description is not intended as, nor should it be construed as, exhaustive of all duties, responsibilities, skills, efforts, or working conditions associated with this job. The job description may change or be supplemented at any time in accordance with business needs and conditions.

Some roles may also require legal eligibility to work in a firearms environment.

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Axon’s mission is to Protect Life and is committed to the well-being and safety of its employees as well as Axon’s impact on the environment. All Axon employees must be aware of and committed to the appropriate environmental, health, and safety regulations, policies, and procedures. Axon employees are empowered to report safety concerns as they arise and activities potentially impacting the environment.

We are an equal opportunity employer that promotes justice, advances equity, values diversity and fosters inclusion. We’re committed to hiring the best talent - regardless of race, creed, color, ancestry, religion, sex (including pregnancy), national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship status, marital status, disability, gender identity, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws, regulations and ordinances - and empowering all of our employees so they can do their best work. If you have a disability or special need that requires assistance or accommodation during the application or the recruiting process, please email [email protected].  Please note that this email address is for accommodation purposes only. Axon will not respond to inquiries for other purposes.

Phishing alert:  Axon will never ask you to pay for any part of the hiring process, including training, equipment, or background checks. We do not make job offers via text message, WhatsApp, or instant messaging platforms without a formal interview process.  All legitimate job openings are listed on our official careers page at https://www.axon.com/careers.  If you receive a suspicious offer or outreach from an email address that is not @axon.com, or if you are asked for sensitive personal information (bank details, Social Security Number) prematurely, please ignore the message and report it to [email protected].