Senior Wireless Software Engineer, National Security

Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors https://www.skydio.com/solutions/energy-and-utilities to first responders https://www.skydio.com/solutions/public-safety, soldiers in battlefield scenarios https://www.skydio.com/solutions/national-security/tactical-isr, and beyond https://www.skydio.com/solutions. ABOUT THE TEAM The National Security team specializes in tailoring Skydio’s technology platform to meet the needs of Defense users domestically and abroad. Reliable, high-performance radio links are foundational to mission success: command and control, mesh/relay coordination, and resilient, high-quality video in congested and contested RF environments. ABOUT THE ROLE As a Senior Wireless Software Engineer on the National Security team, you will design, implement, and optimize radio-link software and system-level algorithms for mission-critical drone communications using industrial/defense-grade RF data links (e.g., Microhard pMDDL-class radios). You’ll work close to hardware and embedded systems - integrating radios over Ethernet/serial interfaces, tuning link performance, building monitoring/management tools, and driving test and evaluation across complex real-world scenarios. WORK LOCATION This role is hybrid 3 days a week in office out of our San Mateo, California office or our Boston, Massachusetts office. We are quite flexible on the days but all employees would be expected to be able to commute to our office 3 days a week or would be open to relocation closer to the office. We offer candidates relocation packages to help with this move. HOW YOU’LL MAKE AN IMPACT - Own radio-link performance end-to-end: improve range, throughput, latency, robustness, and reliability for command/control and video transport over RF data links. - Integrate and control radios at the system layer: implement software interfaces to configure and manage radios (e.g., via CLI/AT-style commands, SNMP, REST, or vendor SDKs), including link profiles, channel plans, bandwidth, power, and QoS settings. - Build adaptive link behaviors: develop algorithms and policy logic for rate control, channel selection, retransmission/FEC strategy integration, prioritization, and application-aware QoS under interference and mobility. - Enable multi-node topologies: support relay/mesh-like operations, multi-aircraft coordination, and GCS interoperability where applicable (including bridging, routing, and traffic shaping). - Drive conducted + OTA testing: define KPIs, build test plans, and enhance automated regression for radio performance in congested/contested environments. - Develop tooling for observability: create telemetry pipelines, dashboards, and analysis scripts to interpret radio stats (RSSI/SNR, MCS/rate, PER/FER, retries, latency/jitter, link uptime). - Debug close to hardware: diagnose issues across RF/antenna integration, embedded Linux networking, drivers, and application behavior using packet captures, protocol traces, and lab equipment. - Collaborate across disciplines: partner with RF, hardware, systems, autonomy, mobile, and flight test to align requirements and deliver field-ready improvements. - Support mission-focused delivery: incorporate operational feedback from defense users and rapidly iterate on robustness and usability. WHAT MAKES YOU A GOOD FIT - Strong experience with RF data links and/or industrial radio modems (e.g., Microhard pMDDL-class, MANET radios, COFDM/microwave links, or similar). - Solid understanding of wireless link fundamentals and performance drivers (link budgets, fading, interference, antenna considerations, mobility effects, multipath). - Experience configuring/