{"id":1069819,"url":"https://alion.io/job/callenlenz-autopilot-software-engineer","title":"Autopilot Software Engineer","company":{"id":693621,"name":"Callen-Lenz","domain":"callenlenz.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/callenlenz","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Teamtailor","truth_index":null},"role":"Backend","role_family":"Backend","seniority":"senior","employment_type":"full_time","work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["Salisbury, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":50000,"max":60000,"currency":"GBP","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":80361},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"ArduPilot","optional":false},{"name":"Agile","optional":true},{"name":"C++","optional":true},{"name":"Linux","optional":true},{"name":"MAVLink","optional":true},{"name":"MAVProxy","optional":true},{"name":"Mission Planner","optional":true},{"name":"PID Control","optional":true},{"name":"Python","optional":true},{"name":"Rust","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-09-18T08:53:58Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-09-18","last_verified_at":"2026-11-09T14:04:46Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":52,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":52},"description":"Autopilot Software Engineer\nVacancy Reference: CLA- 415\nPosition: Full-time\nLocation: Salisbury, Wiltshire, UK\nSalary: £50,000 - £60,000\nAt Callen-Lenz, we are expanding the limits of what is possible. We specialise in crewed and uncrewed aircraft operations and technology and having recently received investment into the business we are going through a period of rapid growth and development and are looking for key roles to assist with these changes. Callen-Lenz offers innovative and customer-focused UAS solutions through our 4 key business strands: technical services, products, platforms and operational services. We are looking for individuals to help drive forward our expansion, placing you at forefront of UAS development in the UK.\nOur Values\nInnovation\n\nIntegrity\n\nCollaboration\n\nExcellence\n\nWhy Work for Us\nBased in the heart of rural Wiltshire, close to the Historic city of Salisbury you will join our rapidly growing, friendly and multi-disciplined team, working on a range of diverse and interesting projects, leading the way in this exciting field and witnessing the full lifecycle of our products. The Callen-Lenz team are passionate about what we do, and we are searching for individuals to grow with us as we expand into the aerospace industry.\nOur benefits include:\n25 days annual leave per year (plus bank holidays)\n\nBuy/Sell holiday policy up to 5 days either way\n\nPension Scheme via Royal London\n\nCompany contributed Share Incentive Plan.\n\nGreen Car Scheme\n\nLife assurance scheme (6x basic salary)\n\nIncome protection policy (75% of basic salary)\n\nPrivate Health Insurance via Bupa\n\nPrivate Dental insurance via Bupa\n\nEnhanced Maternity and paternity\n\n1 Professional membership reimbursed per year\n\n1 paid volunteering day per year\n\nAccess to an independent financial advisor year round\n\nTraining & development opportunities\n\nAbout the role\nAs an Autopilot Software Engineer, you will be working on cutting-edge UAV projects. This exciting role will place the right candidate at the forefront of unmanned air systems development in the UK.\nWorking within the Autopilot team, you will be supporting in the delivery of engineering outputs including software requirements, software design, software implementation and software testing. Applying your knowledge and principles of engineering to assist in the implementation of aircraft control systems to a high degree of safety and reliability.\nResponsibilities\nDevelop, configure, and test Ardupilot-based flight control systems for various UAV platforms.\n\nTest and optimise flight behaviours, parameters, and mission execution in both SITL (Software-in-the-Loop) and real flight environments.\n\nSupport sensor integration (GPS, cameras, LiDAR, etc.) and ensure robust flight performance.\n\nContribute to documentation, simulation environments, and internal development standards.\n\nAssist in software high-level requirements capture and documentation.\n\nSupport software architectural design.\n\nContribution to innovation by assisting in research into and application of emergent technologies.\n\nSupport the implementation of the Software Engineering Quality Practices.\n\nParticipation in peer reviews.\n\nPerform other related duties as required.\n\nHealth and Safety\nDemonstrate in daily activities a commitment to health and safety in the workplace by always ensuring tasks are performed in the safest possible manner.\n\nReport all hazards and incidents that the individual is party to, or observes, in the correct manner.\n\nWhen required or directed, participate in any health and safety training.\n\nQualifications:\nBSc or MSc degree in an Engineering or Science subject is desirable. Preferably with experience in aeronautical or aviation industries.\n\nSkills and Experience\nEssential:\nProven hands-on experience with Ardupilot, PX4, or similar open-source autopilot stacks.\n\nStrong knowledge of MAVLink, mission planning, and UAV communication protocols.\n\nPractical experience with UAV tuning, flight testing, and log analysis (Mission Planner, MAVProxy, etc.).\n\nExcellent working knowledge of C++\n\nAbility to work independently in a fast-paced R&D environment.\n\nExperience working with communication protocols such as: CAN, SPI, I2C, UDP, TCP.\n\nExperience taking a design from software requirements definition through to completion.\n\nDesirable:\nFamiliarity with Linux environments and Ardupilot SITL.\n\nExposure to other programming languages such as LUA (strong plus), Python, Rust.\n\nKnowledge of safety related engineering practices.\n\nWorking in an Agile environment.\n\nBackground of aeronautics and control systems.\n\nFamiliarity with PID control loops.\n\nExperience with flight control systems.\n\nGeneral interest in aviation.\n\nPersonal Attributes\nMust be a British Citizen or have an existing right to work in the UK.\n\nAbility to commit to occasional national and international travel.\n\nA full valid UK driving license.\n\nExcellent communicator.\n\nExcellent problem-solving ability.\n\nAbility to work well in a team.\n\nEnthusiasm for their work and self-motivated.\n\nAbility to hold Security Clearance - 5 years residence in the UK.\n\nCallen-Lenz is an equal opportunities employer, committed to building an inclusive working environment. We welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age. It is essential that the successful candidate must, by the start of their employment have permission to work in the UK. Proof of identity and eligibility to work in the UK will be required prior to commencement of employment.\nPlease be aware that many roles at BAE Systems are subject to both security and export control restrictions. These restrictions mean that factors such as your nationality, any nationalities you may have previously held, and your place of birth can restrict the roles you are eligible to perform within the organisation. All applicants must as a minimum achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard. Many roles also require higher levels of National Security Vetting where applicants must typically have 5 to 10 years of continuous residency in the UK depending on the vetting level required for the role, to allow for meaningful security vetting checks.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6225,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"bachelor","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Annual leave","Dental insurance","Health insurance"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United Kingdom","iso":"GB","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":[],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-20T00:45:28Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":43,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.79,"p_room":0.55,"age_days":51,"expected_fill_days":46,"reasons":["conf:2","win:tail"],"computed_at":"2026-11-09T06:03:00Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":80361,"is_top_pay":false},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/callenlenz-autopilot-software-engineer","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/callenlenz-autopilot-software-engineer.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-09T19:58:22Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":6573,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-10T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":693621},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=693621"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fcallenlenz-autopilot-software-engineer"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fcallenlenz-autopilot-software-engineer"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fcallenlenz-autopilot-software-engineer"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/callenlenz-autopilot-software-engineer\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fcallenlenz-autopilot-software-engineer"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":1069819}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"callenlenz.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":1069819},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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