Autonomy Software Engineer (Rust / Python)
Must be based in Germany | English-speaking team | 12-month contract
About the company
Our client is a well-funded European deep-tech company that builds autonomous systems for demanding, real-world environments. Their engineering culture is built on reliability, collaboration and turning cutting-edge research into systems that actually operate in the field.
The opportunity
You’ll build the decision-making core of a new autonomous platform designed from the ground up. You’ll integrate reinforcement learning agents into high-performance runtime systems so the platform can perceive, reason and act on its own in real time. Your work will go from simulation through hardware-in-the-loop testing to live trials.
What you’ll work on
- Building reliable pipelines that run from sensor data through RL inference to execution, including handling edge cases and failure modes
- Connecting Python-based RL agents to Rust runtime systems for low-latency, reproducible inference
- Distributed systems and communications that cope with intermittent connectivity and bespoke hardware protocols
- Training infrastructure: distributed training, evaluation pipelines and large-scale runs on custom simulators
- Maintaining and improving a Rust and Python stack, cutting technical debt and raising reliability and performance
- Growing the test and benchmark suite, from unit level to HIL simulation and live testing
- Reviewing code, proposals and RFCs to keep standards high for safety-critical software
- Mentoring colleagues and helping shape the interview process
What you’ll bring
- Strong backend or embedded development experience, ideally in Rust (Go or C++ also considered)
- Confidence working in Python on ML-heavy code
- Clean, maintainable, high-performance code
- Comfort with asynchronous working (PRs, RFCs, written discussion)
- A collaborative approach, including code review and pair programming on complex hardware and software integration
- Fluent English, written and spoken
- A view that ethical considerations are part of engineering
Nice to have
- Rust and Python together in production
- Experience deploying RL or ML agents in real-world systems
- Safety-critical programming experience
- Familiarity with low-level control systems and their interfaces
- Sensor integration (IMU, GPS, lidar, cameras) and sensor fusion for navigation
- Robotics or control systems backgroundProduction ML systems
- Hardware interfacing (e.g. microcontrollers)
Why apply
- Work on a novel autonomous system that leaves the lab
- A mix of state-of-the-art research and real-world engineering
- A strong learning culture with tech talks, study groups and mentoring
The client actively encourages applications from under-represented groups, even if you don’t meet every requirement listed.