{"id":987218,"url":"https://alion.io/job/pyka-senior-software-engineer-dropship-and-cargo","title":"Senior Software Engineer, Dropship and Cargo","company":{"id":723182,"name":"Pyka","domain":"flypyka.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/pyka-2","size_band":"51-200","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Lever","truth_index":{"grade":"B","score":75,"open_postings":3,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":1,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":null,"computed_at":"2026-10-14T06:34:16Z"}},"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":"structured","locations":["Alameda, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":166000,"max":205000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":205000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Path Planning","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-08-25T16:46:33Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-08-25","last_verified_at":"2026-10-14T09:38:38Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":49,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":49},"description":"Role Overview\nPyka is looking for a Senior Software Engineer to be the software owner of our Dropship and Cargo programs. The software problems in these programs span the stack: path planning over long ranges, controls for a new airframe, integration of new sensors, engine control and state-of-charge management on a hybrid powertrain, and incorporating weather into how a mission is planned and flown. You will be responsible for the software behavior of these aircraft as a whole - what it needs to do, how the pieces fit together, and whether it is ready to fly - and you will be the engineer the Dropship team comes to when software is the open question on their side.\nSome of the current and future projects you will likely contribute to include:\nPath planning for long-range cargo missions that accounts for energy state, winds aloft, and weather along the route\nEnergy management on a hybrid powertrain: engine control, state-of-charge policy, and how the aircraft trades power against range, payload, and reserve\nFlight controls and handling for a new airframe, from simulation through flight test\nIntegrating new sensors and payload systems, and defining the software needs before the hardware is fixed\nTurning operational feedback from cargo flights into requirements for the next iteration of the aircraft\nDefining what mission planning and ground tools need to expose to operators flying these aircraft\nResponsibilities\nOwn the software for the Dropship and Cargo programs: collect requirements from our test teams and commercial and military customers, define what the aircraft needs to do, build most of it, and specify the remainder clearly enough for others to build against\nDelegate work when scope requires it, and stay accountable for the result either way\nBreak down ambiguous problems (e.g., new aircraft capabilities, energy and range tradeoffs, operational tooling) into plans, and adapt them as flight test and operations produce new information\nWrite production-quality code in C++17 and Python across the aircraft stack, including testing and validation\nSupport flight testing directly: be present for tests, review flight data, and diagnose what the aircraft did and why\nWork with propulsion, hardware, product, and flight operations to make practical tradeoffs between range, payload, reserve, and schedule\nRepresent software in program-level decisions, including giving the program an honest read on what is and is not ready\nProvide technical leadership through design reviews, debugging support, and mentorship of other engineers\nPreferred Qualifications\n5+ years of professional experience with C++ (ideally C++11 or newer)\nProfessional experience with Python\nDepth in at least one of: path planning, controls, state estimation, sensor integration, or embedded and powertrain control\nA track record of taking ownership of unfamiliar technical domains\nExperience owning software for a subsystem across multiple teams\nExperience working on real-world robotic or vehicle systems, especially where software interacts with hardware\nExposure to energy management, hybrid or electric powertrains, or engine control is a plus\nComfort working across the stack from low-level systems to user-facing tools\nWorking knowledge of trigonometry and linear algebra\nWillingness to travel to flight test and field sites\nCompensation & Benefits\n $166,000-$205,000 salary per year + equity. Compensation will vary depending on location, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. Salary ranges are subject to change.\nEmployer-sponsored health, dental and vision insurance\nFSA with employer matching\n401(k)\nPaid holidays, generous PTO, and additional unpaid time off\nVoluntary short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance\nPre-tax commuter benefits\nFree catered lunch and plenty of snacks","description_format":"text","description_chars":3820,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Life insurance","Vision insurance"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Aircraft Manufacturing","General Aviation"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-17T00:13:28Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"US","licensed_sponsor":true,"evidence":"H-1B filings in 12 months: 8","filings_12m":8,"filings_prev_12m":2,"green_card_filings_12m":0,"median_offered_wage_usd":167500,"route":null,"cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-10-03T21:08:04+00:00","sources":["US Department of Labor: LCA disclosure data (H-1B, H-1B1, E-3)"],"filings_for_role_12m":1}],"liveness":{"score":33,"band":"fade","label":"Fading","p_open":1,"p_active":0.6,"p_room":0.55,"age_days":49,"expected_fill_days":38,"reasons":["conf:2","win:tail"],"computed_at":"2026-10-14T06:34:16Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":205000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/pyka-senior-software-engineer-dropship-and-cargo","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/pyka-senior-software-engineer-dropship-and-cargo.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-14T10:52:03Z","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":12905,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-15T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002,"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":723182},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=723182"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fpyka-senior-software-engineer-dropship-and-cargo"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":1,"usd":0.1},"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%2Fpyka-senior-software-engineer-dropship-and-cargo"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.02,"usd":0.002},"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%2Fpyka-senior-software-engineer-dropship-and-cargo"},{"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/pyka-senior-software-engineer-dropship-and-cargo\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fpyka-senior-software-engineer-dropship-and-cargo"}]}