UAS Autonomy Engineer

Ashfell develops autonomy for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that operate in severe conditions. Our technology gives UAS platforms the perception, navigation and decision-making to complete missions on their own.

As a UAS Autonomy and Swarm Engineer, you will take end-to-end ownership of the control and navigation of a swarm of drones. You will develop and validate the algorithms that let the swarm share tasks, make decisions together and stay safe when a drone or a link is lost. Working closely with software, hardware and flight test engineers, you will take this work from simulation to real flight.

This role suits an engineer who thrives on hard multi-agent problems and wants to see their algorithms fly. It is hands‑on and fast‑paced, and you will help bridge the gap between research and deployment, so our swarms perform reliably in real‑world conditions.

The role

Ashfell develops autonomy for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that operate in severe conditions. Our technology gives UAS platforms the perception, navigation and decision‑making to complete missions on their own.

As a UAS Autonomy and Swarm Engineer, you will take end-to-end ownership of the control and navigation of a swarm of drones. You will develop and validate the algorithms that let the swarm share tasks, make decisions together and stay safe when a drone or a link is lost. Working closely with software, hardware and flight test engineers, you will take this work from simulation to real flight.

This role suits an engineer who thrives on hard multi-agent problems and wants to see their algorithms fly. It is hands‑on and fast‑paced, and you will help bridge the gap between research and deployment, so our swarms perform reliably in real‑world conditions.

You will design, build and flight‑prove how the swarm coordinates, from simulation to drones in the air.

• Build multi-agent task allocation and decision‑making.
• Develop deep learning algorithms and combine modules.
• Prove it in simulation first.
• Take it to flight.
• Work across the team.

You have built multi-robot or multi-agent systems that run on real hardware, and you want to see a swarm fly.

• A degree in robotics, computer science, aerospace, control or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years building autonomy software for robots, drones or vehicles.
• Strong background in multi-rotor Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS).
• Experience with flight testing, sensors and payloads (for example optical-flow sensors, LiDAR and cameras), including troubleshooting them in the field.
• Hands‑on work with multi-agent task allocation or coordination, such as auction or consensus methods, CBBA or distributed planning.
• Strong C++ and Python, and production experience with ROS 2.
• Understanding of distributed systems: message loss, latency, state consistency and failure detection.
• Experience testing autonomy in simulation, and moving it onto hardware.
• Comfort working in a small, fast team where you own a module end to end.

• PX4 or Ardu Pilot, and MAVLink.
• Behaviour trees, hierarchical state machines or other mission‑execution frameworks.
• Mesh radio networks and designing for limited bandwidth.
• Fault‑tolerant or safety‑critical software, or runtime assurance methods.
• Drone pilot credentials (e.g. CAA GVC or A2 CofC).

• Eligible to obtain UK security clearance.