NODA AI develops an AI-powered orchestration platform that coordinates cross-vendor, mixed-fleet autonomous systems for defense and intelligence customers.
Location: Austin, TX (Hybrid) Travel: ~15–20% to test ranges, partner facilities, and live exercises Clearance: U.S. Citizenship and ability to obtain a security clearance required ABOUT NODA NODA is a veteran-owned Series A defense technology company building the orchestration layer for autonomous unmanned systems. Our platform — URZA — coordinates fleets of heterogeneous vehicles across air, sea, and land for defense and intelligence customers. The Integration Engineering team owns the integration layer inside URZA: the framework that lets a new vehicle, a new sensor, or a new third-party autonomy stack become orchestratable. We expect every hire to be mission-driven with strong agency. THE ROLE We are seeking a Senior Integration Engineer to lead driver development and vehicle onboarding inside the URZA integration layer. You will design adapters and translation layers connecting URZA to diverse vehicle control protocols, sensor stacks, and third-party autonomy systems. You will own the work that turns "we got the vehicle delivered" into "we're flying it in URZA in HITL by Friday." This is a software-leaning role with field-validated outputs. Most work is at a desk. A meaningful portion is at the bench or at a range. WHAT YOU'LL DO - Build vehicle drivers for new aerial, ground, and marine platforms inside the URZA integration layer. - Build sensor, payload, and third-party autonomy adapters; translate vendor data into URZA's world model. - Own HITL test plans and integration tests; drive new platforms from delivered to URZA-controlled before live test. - Partner with vehicle OEMs, sensor providers, and autonomy partners on integration design and debugging. - Build shared libraries and scaffolding that compress time-to-integrate; mentor mid-level Integration Engineers. WHAT THIS ROLE DOES NOT OWN URZA platform development outside the integration layer (Core Engineering); customer-facing engagement delivery (Solution Engineering); field hardware readiness and RPIC coverage (Field Operations); distributed systems runtime architecture (Systems Engineering). REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS - 5+ years of software engineering, with 2+ years on integrations, drivers, middleware, or robotics software. - Strong proficiency in Python, C++, or Rust. - Hands-on with vehicle control protocols and autopilot software (MAVLink, ROS / ROS2, ArduPilot or PX4); can debug at the message level. - Pub-sub middleware fluency and HITL workflow experience. - U.S. citizenship; able to obtain a security clearance. PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS - Hands-on with autonomous systems or unmanned vehicles (UAS, UGV, USV, UUV). - Zenoh or comparable pub-sub middleware (DDS, ROS2 RMW); routing and key-expression depth. - Sensor integration depth (LIDAR, cameras, IMUs, GNSS) or autonomy algorithm depth (planning, controls, perception, SLAM). - Prior defense, autonomy, or robotics company experience. - Active security clearance. SKILLS & ATTRIBUTES - Strong software engineer first; treats integration as engineering, not scripting. - Systems thinker across vehicle, network, middleware, and orchestration layers. - Structured debugger across hardware-software boundaries. - Documentation-disciplined. - Pragmatic with vendor partners; pushes back when partner-side decisions create downstream risk. BENEFITS & PERKS Our culture fosters collaboration, respect, and trust, empowering passionate people to do their best work. We offer a competitive salary, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities for career growth. In addition to an opportunity to take part in an innovative, collaborative and fast-growing business with a highly motivated and skilled team, we also take pride in taking care of our employees. Here are just a few ways that we show our appreciation: - We offer comprehensive medical, dental, and visions plans - 401(k) Retirement Savings Plan to invest in your long-term retirement goals + Company match - Equity grants for new hires - Unlimited PTO - 11 Paid holidays - Extremely generous company holiday calendar, including a holiday hiatus in November, & December. - Generous Parental Leave - Military Leave for annual training or service requirements - FSA - DCFSA - HSA - Professional Development Opportunities - Access to One Medical https://www.onemedical.com/ - Mental Health Resources: We provide free mental health resources 24/7 including therapy and more. Additional work-life services, such as free legal and financial support, are available to you as well. GROWTH PATH AT NODA Senior Integration Engineer → Staff Integration Engineer → Principal Integration Engineer. Lateral: Engineering Manager (Integration Engineering), Solution Architect, Core Engineering. Export Control Compliance To conform to U.S. government export control regulations, including the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR), you must be a U.S. citizen, lawful permanent resident of the U.S., protected individual as defined by 8 U.S.C. 1324b(a)(3), or otherwise eligible to obtain the required authorizations from the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Department of Commerce. Equal Opportunity Statement NODA AI is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to fostering a diverse, inclusive, and respectful workplace and to maintaining equitable employment and hiring practices. We provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees and make all employment decisions without regard to race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law. As a federal contractor, NODA AI complies with all applicable equal employment opportunity and affirma