MAVLink & Autopilot Engineer

About the role

Alta Ares is seeking a MAVLink & Autopilot Engineer to lead the development of its unmanned aerial system (UAS) communication and flight‑control stack. You will work on both fixed‑wing and multi‑rotor platforms, bridging software development and hands‑on flight testing to deliver reliable, low‑latency autopilot solutions for defence‑grade ISR and counter‑UAS missions.

Key responsibilities

• Design, implement and maintain MAVLink‑based communication pipelines between onboard systems, ground control stations and infrastructure.
• Develop custom MAVLink messages, dialects and extensions specific to Alta Ares operational needs.
• Integrate MAVLink with AI inference engines, sensor‑fusion modules and mission‑management software.
• Customize and extend ArduPlane and ArduCopter firmware, creating new flight modes, failsafe behaviours and navigation patterns.
• Conduct hardware‑in‑the‑loop (HIL) and software‑in‑the‑loop (SIL) testing, followed by live‑flight validation.
• Collaborate with guidance, navigation and control (GNC) engineers to embed advanced algorithms into the ArduPilot stack.

Required profile

• Strong background in embedded C++ and Python development for UAV systems.
• Hands‑on experience with MAVLink protocol and ArduPilot ecosystem (ArduPlane, ArduCopter).
• Proven ability to work in field environments, performing bench work and live‑flight testing.
• Understanding of communication robustness in degraded RF, high‑latency and GNSS‑denied conditions.

Required skills

• MAVLink
• C++
• Python
• ArduPlane
• ArduCopter
• ArduPilot
• AI inference integration
• Sensor fusion
• Hardware‑in‑the‑loop testing
• Software‑in‑the‑loop testing