Senior Software Engineer – Networking & OS

About the role

As a Senior Software Engineer (Networking & OS) on V‑BAT, you will design, implement, and optimise the network infrastructure for an unmanned aerial system operating in contested, GNSS‑denied airspace. The role ensures reliable, secure, and efficient communication between air and ground devices in challenging environments.

Key responsibilities

• Design and build custom Layer 2/Layer 3 topologies that isolate devices, manage dynamic traffic, and transmit across multiple links.
• Implement networking features on embedded Linux, including custom routing, TUN/TAP interfaces, user‑space tunnels, and socket‑level applications.
• Develop bandwidth‑optimised, low‑latency communication paths over lossy or constrained radio and satellite links.
• Write production‑grade C, C++ or Python code for software‑defined network interfaces, traffic‑shaping policies, and link‑failover mechanisms.
• Collaborate with software, hardware engineers and field operators to validate end‑to‑end performance in HIL labs and flight tests.

Required profile

• Bachelor’s degree with 5+ years of relevant experience (or Master’s with 4+ years, PhD with 2+ years).
• Strong proficiency in C, C++ or Python on Linux and a proven record of shipping software that interacts with the OS networking stack.
• Deep knowledge of Linux networking fundamentals such as netlink, IP routing tables, iptables/nftables, TUN/TAP, network namespaces and socket programming.
• Solid understanding of Layer 2/Layer 3 concepts, custom routing protocols, VLAN tagging, QoS/traffic management and VPN/tunnelling mechanisms (OpenVPN, GRE, IPsec or custom tunnels).
• Hands‑on experience troubleshooting network degradation with tools like tcpdump, Wireshark, iproute2 and iperf in high‑latency or bandwidth‑constrained environments.
• Demonstrated ability to ship complex products and meet project deadlines in a fast‑paced setting.
• Eligibility to obtain a security clearance.

Required skills

• C, C++, Python programming.
• Embedded Linux development (Yocto, custom OS builds).
• Linux networking (netlink, iptables/nftables, TUN/TAP, namespaces, socket APIs).
• Network protocol design (VLAN, QoS, VPN, OpenVPN, GRE, IPsec).
• Network analysis tools (tcpdump, Wireshark, iproute2, iperf).