Temporary Software Engineer I - Autonomous Systems, Missouri Institute for Defense & Energy

The Missouri Institute for Defense & Energy (MIDE) at the University of Missouri-Kansas City

The Missouri Institute for Defense & Energy (MIDE) conducts applied research and development in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, cybersecurity, and advanced engineering. MIDE works with university researchers and external partners to translate emerging technologies into reliable, deployable capabilities.

The Temporary Software Engineer - Autonomous Systems will support the development, integration, and testing of software for autonomous drone navigation and mission execution. The position will build software pipelines and platform interfaces that connect flight systems, sensors, edge-computing hardware, mission-planning tools, and external services through APIs. A major focus will be ensuring reliable network communication, secure data exchange, and interoperability across software and hardware platforms. The employee will work with faculty, engineers, researchers, and project partners to move software from prototype development through laboratory and field testing.

This is a temporary, hourly, non-benefit-eligible staff position. The role is expected to be primarily on-site in Kansas City, Missouri, and may include occasional domestic travel for integration activities and field tests.

Job Roles:

• Develop, test, and maintain software modules in Python, or related languages for autonomous navigation, mission planning, and mission execution.
• Build data and control pipelines for waypoint generation, vehicle status, telemetry, command execution, sensor data, mission logs, and post-mission analysis.
• Integrate third-party APIs, software development kits, web services, middleware, and hardware interfaces across flight controllers, edge devices, ground-control systems, and external platforms.
• Configure and troubleshoot wired and wireless network interfaces, addressing, ports, routing, protocols, authentication, permissions, and connectivity needed for reliable system operation.
• Deploy and maintain software on Linux-based edge-computing platforms, including NVIDIA Jetson, Raspberry Pi, or comparable embedded systems.
  Use version control, containerization, logging, configuration management, and reproducible deployment practices to support collaborative software development.
• Support simulation, software-in-the-loop, hardware-in-the-loop, laboratory, and field testing; collect results and diagnose software, hardware, and communication failures.
• Prepare and maintain technical documentation, including software architecture notes, API/interface specifications, setup instructions, test plans, results, and troubleshooting guides.
• Coordinate with project leads and interdisciplinary team members, communicate technical risks and progress, and follow applicable laboratory, flight-test, safety, and information-security procedures.
• Perform other related software engineering and systems-integration duties as assigned.

This is a short-term, temporary position, expected to conclude work on and not continue past December 31, 2026. This position is 100% grant/externally funded.

• Master's degree in computer science, computer engineering, electrical engineering, robotics, information technology, or a closely related field.
• At least one year of applied software development, research, internship, military, or project experience involving autonomous systems, robotics, embedded systems, networked platforms,or related engineering work.
• Strong programming ability in Python or another systems-oriented (e.g., C/C++) language.
• Experience with Linux, Git-based version control, Docker or other container tools, and structured software-development workflows.
• Experience developing or integrating REST APIs, WebSocket services, SDKs, message-based interfaces, or other machine-to-machine communication mechanisms.
• Knowledge of networking concepts and troubleshooting, including IP addressing, ports, TCP/UDP, wireless networking, routing, firewalls, authentication, and secure data exchange.
• Experience with embedded or edge-computing platforms such as NVIDIA Jetson, Raspberry Pi, Arduino, ESP32, or similar hardware.
• Experience with autonomous drones, uncrewed aerial systems, robotics, navigation, mission-planning software, flight controllers, sensors, or ground-control systems is strongly preferred.
• Experience with computer vision, AI/ML, OpenCV, PyTorch, or related tools is beneficial for perception and autonomy applications.
• Demonstrated ability to test integrated systems, analyze logs, isolate failures, and move prototypes toward reliable operation.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills, attention to detail, and ability to work independently and collaboratively in laboratory and field-test environments.

The anticipated hiring range for this position has been established as $35.00 to $37.00 hourly.

Salary is determined by a variety of factors, including but not limited to, the individual's particular combination of education, skills, and experience, as well as organizational requirements.

Grade: The Temporary Professional title is not graded within the Global Grading System.
University Title: TEMPORARY PROFESSIONAL
To review the University of Missouri's Staff Compensation Structure you can view the Job Code detail page. Internal applicants can determine their university title by accessing the Talent Profile tile in myHR.

Review of applications to begin immediately.

Employment visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

This position is not eligible for University benefits. Individuals in non benefit eligible positions may choose to participate in the Tax Deferred Annuity Plan (403b). For information about this plan, please visit the Faculty & Staff Benefits website at https://www.umsystem.edu/departments-staff/human-resources/benefits-retirement/retirement/core-voluntary-plans

Equal Employment Opportunity

The University of Missouri is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

To request ADA accommodations, please call the Office of Equity & Title IX at 816-235-6910.