Senior Software Engineer - Mission Autonomy (All Genders)

About Us

STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionizing the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost-effective. This provides our operators with a decisive edge in highly contested environments.

Were focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems - not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe - today.

About the team

Minerva is STARKs command and control software — the brain that connects operators to autonomous systems across multiple domains in real time. The Minerva team is a small, senior software group based in Berlin and Munich, working directly with our systems and hardware teams to build mission-critical C2 capabilities deployed in active operational environments.

We move fast, ship real software, and operate under constraints most engineers never encounter — low-bandwidth networks, air-gapped devices, high-stakes decision loops. There is no room for abstraction for its own sake. Everything we build ends up in the hands of real operators in the field.

Your mission

As a Senior Software Engineer, Mission Autonomy , build the intelligence behind real UAV swarming - the algorithms that decide which vehicle attacks which target, how the swarm re-organises when conditions change mid-mission, and how 4+ loitering munitions coordinate autonomously to overwhelm adversary defences.

You will design and implement the swarm decision-making layer at the heart of Minerva Frontline, our Mission Management Software. This means building the optimisation and planning algorithms that sit above our existing mission planning engine, turning a set of operator-level objectives and battlefield conditions into coordinated, multi-vehicle strike missions—then dynamically re-planning them when the battlefield shifts.

This is Genesis-stage work. There is no off-the-shelf library for what were building. You will work shoulder-to-shoulder with our Software Architect and our backend team to take swarm coordination from concept to live flight demonstration. If you want to solve hard multi-agent problems that have real consequences in the physical world, this is the role.

Responsibilities

Architect the Swarm Brain: Design and implement the task allocation engines (auction-based allocation, Hungarian method, constraint satisfaction) that optimally assign multiple vehicles to multiple targets in high-threat environments.

Build Dynamic Re-Planning Loops: Develop real-time, deterministic algorithms that allow a swarm to adapt mid-flight. When threats appear, targets move, or a drone is jammed, your software will re-evaluate the entire battlefield and push new coordinates instantly.

Own the Optimization Layer: Build the high-level planning architecture that sits above our static mission routing engine. Your layer will decompose abstract operator objectives into specific vehicle assignments.

Simulate and Fly: Own our Software-in-the-Loop (SITL) environment to ruthlessly test and break swarm behaviors with 4+ virtual vehicles. Once validated in simulation, you will step out into the field to deploy your code onto live aircraft.

Qualifications

Production-Grade Modern C++: Python is fine for math prototyping, but our production engine runs on C++ where latency, memory efficiency, and deterministic reliability are non-negotiable. You must be comfortable owning and scaling this codebase.