Senior Software Engineer

Responsibilities

• Build and own infrastructure for validating autonomous features and system performance across planning, perception, and control.
• Design simulation tools and scenario-generation systems for large-scale, high-fidelity autonomy testing under real-world and edge-case conditions.
• Develop custom validation and testing tools that integrate with Zipline’s internal autonomy development stack.
• Create scalable automated systems to run, track, and analyze thousands of validation tasks.
• Collaborate with autonomy, systems, data, flight test, and QA engineers to codify metrics, safety thresholds, requirements, and real-world results.
• Establish software release-validation practices, documentation, standards, workflows, metrics, and evaluation methodologies for the autonomy organization.

Requirements

• 5+ years of experience building software systems for simulation, testing, or safety validation, ideally in robotics, autonomy, aerospace, or other real-time safety-critical domains.
• Strong software engineering skills with proficiency in C++, Rust, or C; Python experience is a plus.
• Hands-on experience with simulation systems for robotics or autonomous systems, particularly for testing or validation.
• Experience building tools, platforms, or infrastructure used by other engineers.
• Understanding of validation methodologies, including defining metrics, evaluating system behavior, and testing complex electromechanical systems.
• Preferred qualifications include high-fidelity simulation or scenario-generation experience; large-scale or distributed systems experience; Kubernetes or AWS experience; familiarity with systems engineering concepts; exposure to planning, perception, and control autonomy stacks; and some exposure to machine learning systems.
• The role is not intended for primarily MATLAB/Simulink-based simulation, systems-engineering-only, infrastructure/DevOps-only, or QA/QC-focused backgrounds without significant software ownership.

Benefits

• Starting cash range is $180,000-$260,000 annually, with final pay based on experience, qualifications, skills, location, and projected impact.
• Total compensation may include equity, discretionary annual or performance bonuses, sales incentives, medical, dental, and vision insurance, and paid time off.