{"id":452569,"url":"https://alion.io/job/seneca-senior-software-engineer-controls","title":"Senior Software Engineer (Controls)","company":{"id":174305,"name":"Seneca","domain":"seneca.nl","url":"https://alion.io/company/seneca","size_band":null,"is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"Ashby","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":"structured","locations":["Sausalito, United States"],"countries":["US"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":{"min":140000,"max":200000,"currency":"USD","period":"year","gross":null,"usd_annual":200000},"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":true,"technologies":[{"name":"Autonomous Navigation","optional":false},{"name":"C++","optional":false},{"name":"Machine Learning","optional":false},{"name":"Obstacle Avoidance","optional":false},{"name":"Path Planning","optional":false},{"name":"Python","optional":false},{"name":"ArduPilot","optional":true},{"name":"Betaflight","optional":true},{"name":"Computer Vision","optional":true},{"name":"PyTorch","optional":true},{"name":"TensorFlow","optional":true},{"name":"TensorFlow C++","optional":true}],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2025-10-19T18:01:17Z","employer_posted_date":"2025-10-19","last_verified_at":"2026-10-26T04:54:32Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":371,"trust":{"level":"stale","repost_count":0,"flags":["stale"],"days_open":371},"description":"The Job:\nWe are seeking an exceptional and innovative Controls Engineer to design, develop, and implement control systems for our unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The ideal candidate will have a strong background in control theory and hands-on experience with UAV systems. Experience applying machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) to enhance autonomous navigation, path planning, and flight performance is a distinct advantage.\nWhat You'll Do:\nFlight Control System Design: Design, implement, and test advanced control algorithms for UAVs to ensure stability, maneuverability, and reliable performance.\n\nModeling and Simulation: Create and maintain dynamic flight models for various UAV platforms to simulate and validate control strategies.\n\nPath Planning and Autonomy: Integrate path planning algorithms for autonomous navigation, obstacle avoidance, and optimal flight route generation.\n\nML/DL Integration: Apply machine learning and deep learning techniques to enhance flight control and dynamic flight models.\n\nEmbedded Systems: Develop and optimize robust, compute-constrained code for embedded systems, ensuring reliability and real-time performance.\n\nHardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) Testing: Conduct comprehensive system testing, including Hardware-in-the-Loop simulations and flight testing, to validate control system performance.\n\nTroubleshooting and Optimization: Analyze flight data to troubleshoot system issues, optimize control parameters, and continuously improve overall performance.\n\nCollaboration: Work closely with cross-functional teams, including mechanical, software, and systems engineers, to deliver high-quality and reliable drone solutions.\n\nWhat You Bring:\nEITHER PhD & 2+ years of work experience: PhD in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, or a related field AND 2+ years of hands-on experience in control system design, modeling, and simulation.\n\nOR Masters & 5-8+ years work experience: Masters in Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, or a related field AND 5-8+ years of hands-on experience in control system design, modeling, and simulation.\n\nStrong proficiency in programming languages like C++ and Python.\n\nFamiliarity with embedded systems and real-time operating systems\n\nBonus Points For:\nHands-on experience with UAVs, autopilots (e.g., PX4, ArduPilot, Betaflight), and sensor integration.\n\nExperience with machine learning frameworks (e.g., TensorFlow, PyTorch) for robotics or autonomous systems.\n\nKnowledge of computer vision principles and techniques.\n\nFamiliarity with aviation regulations and safety protocols.\n\nWhat We Offer:\nCompetitive Salary - Reflective of your skills and experience\n\nEquity Compensation - Be a part-owner in the company's future\n\nComprehensive Health Coverage - Including medical, dental, and vision plans\n\nHealth Savings Account (HSA) - Optional pre-tax savings for medical expenses\n\nUnlimited PTO - Flexible time off to recharge, plus paid company holidays\n\nAbout Us\nSeneca is building cutting-edge drone and sensor technology for wildfire suppression, aiming to eliminate wildfire risk across 500 million acres of high-risk U.S. + allied territory. Backed by top-tier investors, including Convective Capital, Caffeinated Capital, First Round Capital, Slow Ventures, Nextview Ventures, Transition Capital, Bullpen Capital, Stepstone Group, Roar Capital, Offline Ventures, and leaders from Palantir, Google, Meta, and many others. Founded by Stu Landesberg (former Founder & CEO of Grove Collaborative - IPO in 2022 at $1.7B) and fire industry experts, Seneca is a mission-driven company dedicated to climate resilience and fire prevention.\nDon’t meet every single requirement? If you're excited about this role but your experience doesn’t align perfectly with every qualification, we encourage you to apply - you may still be the right fit for our team.","description_format":"text","description_chars":3912,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":{"level":"master","optional":false},"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Equity","Flexible time off","Unlimited PTO"],"hiring_locations":[],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Digital Government","Web Development Services"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-06T09:03:58Z"},{"event":"open","at":"2026-09-26T06:48:39Z"}],"visa":[],"liveness":{"score":6,"band":"cold","label":"Long shot","p_open":1,"p_active":0.199,"p_room":0.28,"age_days":371,"expected_fill_days":28,"reasons":["conf:1","win:tail","crowd:"],"computed_at":"2026-10-26T05:57:25Z"},"pay":{"stated_usd_annual":200000,"is_top_pay":true},"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/seneca-senior-software-engineer-controls","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/seneca-senior-software-engineer-controls.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-10-26T06:15:42Z","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":8386,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-10-27T00:00:00Z"}},"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":174305},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=174305"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fseneca-senior-software-engineer-controls"},{"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%2Fseneca-senior-software-engineer-controls"},{"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%2Fseneca-senior-software-engineer-controls"},{"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/seneca-senior-software-engineer-controls\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fseneca-senior-software-engineer-controls"}]}