Senior Software Engineer - Autonomous Systems

Palantir

Washington, UShybrid$145k-$200k/yrPosted Jul 22, 2026
Posting intelligenceActively listedReposted 3×, possible evergreen/ghost posting

Skills

pythonc++rustjavallmml

About the role

A World-Changing Company

Palantir builds the world’s leading software for data-driven decisions and operations. By bringing the right data to the people who need it, our platforms empower our partners to develop lifesaving drugs, forecast supply chain disruptions, locate missing children, and more.

The Role

We are seeking a Senior Software Engineer to join a customer-facing product engineering team focused on developing advanced Command and Control (C2) and Agentic Autonomy Software for Autonomous Systems for use in operational and tactical missions. This role involves building, integrating, and deploying state-of-the-art software solutions that combine sensors, actuators, unmanned vehicles, and intelligent decision-making systems including self-hosted and commercial LLMs to enable users to employ and manage robotic and autonomous systems across a variety of mission sets. You will work alongside other experts in sensing, artificial intelligence, physics and simulations, user experience, and edge system engineering to build and deliver solutions that redefine complex military and civilian mission scenarios in the real world.

As a part of this team, you will contribute directly to the development of cloud and edge software to command and control autonomous systems, including interfacing with onboard sensors (radar, cameras, RF, and other modalities) and real-time kinetic and non-kinetic systems for individual and swarms of systems. You will work alongside other experts in sensing, artificial intelligence, and systems engineering to shape solutions that redefine complex area defense scenarios.

Core Responsibilities

Design, implement, and optimize software for mission-critical autonomous systems using modern technologies and methodologies

Develop algorithms to process data from heterogeneous sensors for real-time state estimation and threat detection

Build LLM and AI-driven systems capable of assessing threats and rapidly making decisions to deploy responses to those threats

Develop integrations with a range of sensors, effectors, and autonomous platforms

Engineer scalable, reliable, and fail-safe systems capable of functioning in high-stakes environments

Partner with multidisciplinary teams, including robotics experts, hardware engineers, and system integrators, to deliver integrated solutions

What We Value

Proven experience in software development for autonomous systems, embedded systems, or robotics

Knowledge of AI/ML, sensor processing, or swarm behaviors is highly desirable

Knowledge of LLM toolchains and implementation of agents into complex real time data workflows

Ability to manage complexity, optimize for performance, and think critically under pressure

Experience deploying and maintaining robust production systems

What We Require

5+ years of professional software development experience

2+ years of experience contributing to the system design or architecture (architecture, design patterns, reliability and scaling) of new and existing systems

2+ years of experience as a mentor, tech lead or leading an engineering team

Strong proficiency in Rust, Python, C++, or Java

Bachelor's/Master's/PhD in Computer Science, Robotics, Electrical Engineering, or related fields

Active US Security clearance or eligibility and willingness to obtain a US Security clearance

Salary

The estimated salary range for this position is estimated to be $145,000 - $200,000/year. Total compensation for this position may also include Restricted Stock units, sign-on bonus and other potential future incentives. Further note that total compensation for this position will be determined by each individual’s relevant qualifications, work experience, skills, and other factors. This estimate excludes the value of any potential sign-on bonus; the value of any benefits offered; and the potential future value of any long-term incentives.

Our benefits aim to promote health and wellbeing across all areas of Palantirians’ lives. We work to continuously improve our offerings and listen to our community as we design and update them. The list below details our available benefits and some of the perks that can be enjoyed as an employee of Palantir Technologies.

Benefits

Employees (and their eligible dependents) can enroll in medical, dental, and vision insurance as well as voluntary life insurance

Employees are automatically covered by Palantir’s basic life, AD&D and disability insurance

Commuter benefits

Relocation assistance

Take what you need paid time off, not accrual based

2 weeks paid time off built into the end of each year (subject to team and business needs)

10 paid holidays throughout the calendar year

Supportive leave of absence program including time off for military service and medical events

Paid leave for new parents and subsidized back-up care for all parents

Fertility and family building benefits including but not limited to adoption, surrogacy, and preservation

Stipend to help with expenses that come with a new child

Employees can enroll in Palantir’s 401k plan

Life at Palantir

We want every Palantirian to achieve their best outcomes, that’s why we celebrate individuals’ strengths, skills, and interests, from your first interview to your longterm growth, rather than rely on traditional career ladders. Paying attention to the needs of our community enables us to optimize our opportunities to grow and helps ensure many pathways to success at Palantir. Promoting health and well-being across all areas of Palantirians’ lives is just one of the ways we’re investing in our community. Learn more at Life at Palantir and note that our offerings may vary by region.

In keeping consistent with Palantir’s values and culture, we believe employees are “better together” and in-person work affords the opportunity for more creative outcomes. Therefore, we encourage employees to work from our offices to foster connectivity and innovation. Many teams do offer hybrid options (WFH a day or two a week), allowing our employees to strike the right trade-off for their personal productivity. Based on business need, there are a few roles that allow for “Remote” work on an exceptional basis. If you are applying for one of these roles, you must work from the state in which you are employed. If the posting is specified as Onsite, you are required to work from an office.

Please note that you will never be asked to submit a payment or share financial information to participate in our interview process. If you suspect that you've been contacted by a scammer, we recommend you cease all communication with the individual and consider reporting them to the relevant authorities, such as the US FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3).

If you would like to understand more about how your personal data will be processed by Palantir, please see our Privacy Policy.

Compensation

This Autonomous Vehicles Engineer role pays $145k-$200k/yr. Within typical range for autonomous vehicles engineer roles in United States.

Questions about this role

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