Drone Software Engineer Jobs in California (NOW HIRING)

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond.
Skydio's mission is to make the world a safer and more efficient place through the use of autonomous drones. Our customers-from public safety agencies to industrial and enterprise operators-deploy fleets ranging from a single drone to tens of thousands of drones and docking stations to support critical missions such as infrastructure inspection, emergency response, search and rescue, and large-scale mapping.
As a Staff Software Engineer - Full-stack you will design and build the core cloud systems that power autonomous drone operations at scale. Your work will enable customers to plan complex aerial missions, manage and monitor large fleets, visualize rich spatial data, and seamlessly integrate drone operations into their workflows.
You'll develop primarily on Skydio Cloud (our SaaS platform), with occasional work on software that runs directly on the drone. This is a true full-stack role, combining backend systems in Python and Go with TypeScript and React on the frontend. You will collaborate closely with Autonomy, Backend Infrastructure, Product, Design, and Field teams, owning technical direction and features end-to-end while helping shape Skydio's long-term platform architecture.
How you'll make an impact:

• Design and evolve Skydio Cloud's core data models, APIs, and services for drones, docks, users, missions, and the large volumes of telemetry, video, and geospatial data they produce.
• Build and maintain core fleet management capabilities, including real-time fleet health, over-the-air updates, asset and media management, security and permissions, user and device management, and fleet-scale observability.
• Develop geospatial and mission-planning systems that allow customers to plan advanced aerial missions, visualize complex spatial datasets, and operate drones autonomously and safely.
• Design secure, scalable, and highly observable systems capable of handling petabytes of real-time data and video from globally distributed drone fleets.
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Product, Design, Backend Infrastructure, and Field teams to rapidly iterate, incorporate customer feedback, and deliver impactful features.
• Provide technical leadership through architecture reviews, code reviews, and proof-of-concepts, helping raise the bar for engineering quality across the organization.
• Participate in a rotating on-call schedule to help ensure Skydio's platform remains reliable and available 24/7. While reliability is critical, incidents are rare.

What would make you a good fit:

• 8+ years of experience building full-stack software systems, with strong proficiency in TypeScript, React, GraphQL, Python, and cloud platforms such as AWS.
• Demonstrated systems thinking: the ability to design end-to-end solutions with performance, reliability, testing, and observability in mind.
• Experience building secure, scalable, enterprise-grade cloud applications and APIs.
• Familiarity with modern infrastructure and tooling such as PostgreSQL, Kubernetes, Temporal, or similar technologies.
• Strong product instincts and the ability to take ambiguous problems and turn them into reliable, customer-facing solutions.

Bonus points for:

• Experience with geospatial data, mapping, or visualization tools such as Mapbox, Cesium, PostGIS, ArcGIS, or QGIS.
• Experience with photogrammetry, scanning, mapping, or 3D reconstruction pipelines.
• Experience integrating frontend applications with cloud-based services and real-time data systems.
• Familiarity with autonomy, robotics, or mission-planning architectures (e.g., state machines, behavior trees).

Work Location:
This role is Hybrid 3 days a week in the office out of our San Mateo, California office. We are quite flexible on the days but all employees would be expected to be able to commute to our office 3 days a week or would be open to relocation closer to the office. We offer candidates relocation packages to help with this move.
Compensation:
At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $200,000-$275,000. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-term financial growth, and we ensure all regular, full-time employees have the opportunity to significantly benefit from the company's success. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company's group health insurance plans. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan. This position and all associated benefits are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as the Company's policies and eligibility criteria.
*Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position's location.
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At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture.
Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws.
For positions located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit https://www.e-verify.gov/