Senior Autonomous Systems Engineer

Sthenos AI is the AI developer of EFA Group, building intelligent, mission-ready solutions for defense and aerospace. With deep expertise in Command-and-Control (C2), cyber defense, computer vision, and autonomous systems, we design and deploy secure, field-proven AI that enhances operational efficiency and situational awareness. As part of a leading European defense ecosystem, we bring scalable innovation where it matters most - in the theater of operations.

As a Senior Autonomous Systems Engineer (f/m/d), you are a core member of the engineering team at Sthenos AI and actively contribute to the design and development of next-generation autonomous and intelligent systems. You work across the full autonomy stack - from perception and planning to system orchestration and deployment - while helping shape scalable, production-grade AI-driven platforms.

• In cross-functional teams consisting of ML Engineers, Data Scientists and Vision AI Engineers, you design the software architecture of advanced autonomous systems and high-performance AI platforms
• You assume ownership of complex features within autonomous frameworks and drive implementation end-to-end
• You develop robust, high-performance software components primarily in C++ and Python
• You design and implement modules related to perception, sensor fusion, localization, planning, control, or decision-making systems
• You integrate and optimize autonomous frameworks and middleware stacks for real-world deployment
• You work closely with AI/ML engineers to bring machine learning and robotics capabilities in production systems
• You conduct peer reviews and identify inefficiencies, architectural weaknesses, and performance bottlenecks to ensure high software quality
• You contribute to simulation environments, validation pipelines, and hardware/software integration activities
• You respect and actively improve testing strategies including unit, integration, simulation, stress, and real-time system testing
• You actively assist in building and maintaining CI/CD pipelines and deployment workflows for autonomous applications
• You ensure that quality, safety, cybersecurity, and reliability requirements are embedded throughout the product lifecycle
• You mentor junior engineers and actively contribute to engineering excellence and best practices across the team
• You represent Sthenos AI in technical discussions, meetups, conferences, and customer-facing innovation initiatives

Your Skills

• 5+ years of experience in Autonomous Systems, Robotics, or Software Engineering with strong expertise in C++ and Python
• Hands-on experience with autonomous frameworks, robotics middleware, and real-time distributed systems
• Strong understanding of core autonomy domains such as perception, localization, sensor fusion, planning, or control
• Solid software engineering background including multithreading, performance optimization, system design, APIs, Linux environments, and CI/CD practices
• Experience integrating hardware and software systems using sensors such as LiDAR, cameras, GNSS, IMUs, or radar

Nice to Have

• Experience with ROS/ROS2 and the corresponding data formats, simulation environments, or validation frameworks for autonomous systems
• Familiarity with cloud-native architectures, edge computing, GPU acceleration, or high-performance computing
• Knowledge of functional safety, cybersecurity, or safety-critical software development practices
• Experience integrating machine learning or AI models into autonomous systems and production environments
• Experience with Docker or containerized environments is considered a plus

Your Competencies

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with the ability to decompose complex technical challenges
• Passion for building reliable, scalable, and intelligent autonomous systems
• Ability to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams with highly skilled engineers and scientists
• Strong communication skills and the ability to explain complex technical concepts in a structured manner
• You embrace a feedback culture and actively contribute to continuous improvement
• High sense of ownership, accountability, and engineering craftsmanship
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken