STARK is a new kind of defence technology company revolutionizing the way autonomous systems are deployed across multiple domains. We design, develop and manufacture high-performance unmanned systems that are software-defined, mass-scalable, and cost-effective. This provides our operators with a decisive edge in highly contested environments.
We’re focused on delivering deployable, high-performance systems—not future promises. In a time of rising threats, STARK is bolstering the technological edge of NATO Allies and their Partners to deter aggression and defend Europe—today.
(Senior) Forward Deployed Engineer (all genders)
Berlin
Full-time
Permanent employee
About Us
About the team
Minerva is STARK's command and control software — the brain that connects operators to autonomous systems across multiple domains in real time. The Minerva team is a small, senior software group based in Berlin and Munich, working directly with our systems and hardware teams to build mission-critical C2 capabilities deployed in active operational environments.
We move fast, ship real software, and operate under constraints most engineers never encounter — low-bandwidth networks, air-gapped devices, high-stakes decision loops. There is no room for abstraction for its own sake. Everything we build ends up in the hands of real operators in the field.
We move fast, ship real software, and operate under constraints most engineers never encounter — low-bandwidth networks, air-gapped devices, high-stakes decision loops. There is no room for abstraction for its own sake. Everything we build ends up in the hands of real operators in the field.
Your mission
We are looking for a Senior Forward Deployed Engineer — a senior IC who is the technical face of Minerva Frontline for our internal hardware teams, early-adopter customers and programme partners. You deploy the Frontline into new internal and customer projects, own the integration, and earn trust through engineering credibility, not project management.
You operate at the intersection of software, hardware, and operational reality: standing up the C++ backend that orchestrates UAV swarms, integrating new platforms against a live system, and ensuring command and control flows flawlessly in air-gapped, bandwidth-constrained tactical environments. When something breaks in the field, you fix it — on-site, under time pressure, with the customer watching.
If you find more satisfaction fixing an integration issue in the field than closing a Jira ticket, this is your role.
Responsibilities
Deploy & Integrate: You will stand up and configure Minerva Frontline in customer environments, including edge-deployed hardware, constrained networks, and field infrastructure. You will own the integration of new UAV platforms and features with Frontline.
Diagnose & Fix: You will be the technical authority on-site. When swarm telemetry degrades, gRPC connectivity fails, or a MAVLink intent doesn't translate to physical drone execution, you diagnose and resolve it — in real time.
Bridge the Gap: You translate operational feedback from customers and pilots into precise, actionable engineering requirements. You will work directly with other engineering teams to drive fixes, improvements, and platform support back into the product.
Prove the System: You will participate directly in flight-test campaigns, validating that software intents map flawlessly to physical drone execution in real-world, contested environments.
Build Tooling: Where standard tooling falls short in the field, you build your own — scripts, diagnostic utilities, integration harnesses — to make deployments repeatable and resilient.
Qualifications
Who You Are
Operationally Literate: You have direct experience and/or passionate interest in Defence, Robotics, Aerospace, or an adjacent high-stakes domain. You understand — without being told — the difference between a bug that crashes a demo and a fault that grounds a mission. You have worked in, or directly alongside, operational environments and you take that context seriously.
A Systems Builder: You have 5+ years of software engineering experience with deep expertise in backend and systems-level development. You have built and deployed complex distributed systems, not just maintained them.
A C++ Engineer: You are proficient in Modern C++ and treat memory safety and performance as first principles. You are comfortable reading, debugging, and patching a production C++ codebase under time pressure — without a senior engineer on call.
Field-Ready: You are eager — genuinely eager — to step away from the desk and work directly in the field with hardware engineers, drones, and test equipment. Travel to customer sites and test ranges is a core part of this role, not an exception.
Concurrency & Performance Obsessed: You understand that in our domain, a 10ms lag in processing a strike intent or a synchronization error in swarm telemetry is operationally significant. You know how to profile, diagnose, and fix it.
High Agency: You don't wait for clarity before acting. You assess the situation, identify the technical gap, and execute — then communicate what you did and why.
Qualifications:
B.Sc/M.Sc in Computer Science, Robotics, Systems Engineering, or equivalent practical experience.
Deep expertise in modern C++ (17/20/23).
Hands-on experience with real-time distributed systems, gRPC, Flatbuffers, WebSockets, or MAVLink/MAVSDK.
Demonstrated experience deploying software systems in operational or field environments — not just in staging.
Hardware / Field Testing: Proven willingness and capability to work hands-on with hardware teams during flight testing and platform integration.
Security: Due to the nature of our work, candidates must be eligible to obtain appropriate security clearance.
Why Join STARK?
Impact: You are not shipping features into a backlog. You are directly delivering and proving the capability that keeps autonomous systems operational in the field.
Autonomy: You own the deployment. You have the authority and the latitude to solve problems on the ground without waiting for permission.
Growth: As the company scales across new platforms and customer programmes, your operational footprint and influence across our engineering organization scales with it.
If you´re interested in building the future of European Defence with us, and you see yourself reflected in the description above, please send us your CV in English. We´re looking forward to meeting you!