Forward Deployed System Integration Engineer - L2; UAV Robotics

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Preferred starting date: ASAP

Weekly availability: full-time (5 days/week, minimum 60% travel in EU)

Location:

Aerospace Innovation Hub, Delft, the Netherlands

Fiducial is a young but fast-growing deep-tech start-up with big ambitions at the frontier of autonomy, perception, and defence. Our core expertise lies in 3D vision and graphics technologies which we deploy in a dual-use context for inspection and defence. This role will focus mainly on the defence context where we are developing software for advanced on-board UAV situational awareness in military applications.

Our solutions are aimed to operate with low-cost and widely available sensors and compute. From there, we plan to develop a line‑up of interconnected solutions to safeguard European safety.

Our team consists of engineers that are passionate about the technology and solutions they develop. The only time most of us are not thinking about the technology is when we are asleep, and sometimes even then. Our team members have a background in different fields such as Aerospace Engineering, Computational Science and Engineering, Robotics and Computer Graphics. Our office is located in the Aerospace Innovation Hub, a start‑up hub located on the TU Delft campus in the faculty of Aerospace Engineering.

We work closely with top-tier partners, ranging from government agencies and prime contractors to academic research institutes and other start‑ups. Our projects span from large tender orders in collaboration with partners to low TRL research with government agencies. Whether through formal R&D programs or rapid prototyping tracks, we operate at the intersection of innovation and deployment.

As a Forward Deployed System Integration Engineer - L2 (UAV Robotics), you will be at the center of bringing our autonomy solutions into the real world. You will work hands‑on with drone hardware, integrate onboard systems, and deploy software onto real UAV platforms — from agile FPV drones to large fixed‑wing aircraft.

This role is ideal for someone who loves making physical systems work, thrives in the field, and enjoys solving problems with a combination of practical engineering, Linux skills, and methodical testing. You will become the critical link between our autonomy stack and the aircraft it controls.

The L2 level reflects alignment between scope, autonomy, and field responsibility at this stage. It sits within our engineering track (L1, L2, L3, etc.) and provides a clear pathway for progression as you demonstrate impact and ownership in the role.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Be a key member of the deployment team responsible for deploying autonomy solutions across diverse UAV platforms.
• Work hands‑on with UAV hardware: assembling, wiring, debugging, and preparing platforms for field deployment.
• Travel to partner sites, including international locations, to work on‑site and ensure the solutions function reliably in demanding real‑world conditions ("in the dirt").
• Integrate and test full‑stack autonomy solutions on partner platforms, often in close collaboration with partner engineering teams.
• Provide structured and actionable feedback to the product development team, based on observations from field tests and operational flights.
• Contribute to improving interfaces between autonomy algorithms and flight controllers, helping shape a more robust deployment pipeline.

• Strong proficiency of working in a fully terminal‑based Linux environment, shell scripting for automation and deployment tasks, Linux file system and command‑line tools, and debugging system‑level issues using the Linux terminal.
• Solid understanding of UAV components and hardware, including battery management and practical electronics, with hands‑on experience. Ideally you have built, flown, and debugged a drone yourself.
• Proven experience working with drone flight controllers such as Ardupilot or Beta flight.
• A willingness to pick up and learn new concepts quickly and to self‑acquire missing background knowledge.
• Adaptability under unforeseen circumstances and ability to think and act under pressure.
• A…