Robotics Engineer

We log Gs, not standups.

Minerva Defence is a UK sovereign defence technology company building the full stack of unmanned systems for modern warfare: hardware, software, networking, autonomy, navigation and effectors. Our mission is simple: to help ensure the UK and its allies can defend themselves in an era where major conflict is no longer unthinkable.

We are deliberately low-profile: no hype, no performative marketing, just execution. We ideate, design, and manufacture from start to finish right here in the UK. Our products are in active use on the battlefield today, delivering real operational impact in the most demanding environments. Despite operating largely in stealth, our team of 60 people is delivering disproportionate effect, with tens of millions in annual revenue across UK and non-UK customers.

Our culture is elite, innovative and mission-focused. We are built to be asymmetric: small in headcount, relentless in execution, and outsized in battlefield impact. We are looking for people who are not just talented, but committed: to the work, to the team, and to the purpose behind it.

This role sits at the centre of the platform's capability development, working directly with the users to understand what they need and then building it. You'll own the full arc: hardware integration, software development, flight validation. In the short term there's hands-on flight testing involved, and most engineers here would tell you that's one of the better parts of the job. Over time, as the team grows, you'll have more say over where you focus. The flying will happen either way.

Responsibilities

• Own the development of new platform capabilities end to end, from requirement through to field validation
• Integrate hardware including sensors, camera systems, and communications equipment into the platform
• Develop software across perception, navigation, and communications, with real accountability for what ships
• Work on robotic navigation challenges including SLAM and localisation in GPS-constrained environments
• Take part in flight testing and validation, outdoors, with the platform you've been building
• Work directly with partner force users; their feedback is your brief
• Contribute to the long-term autonomy and sensing roadmap for the platform

Minimum:

• Solid, applied experience in robotics engineering, not just academic familiarity
• Hands-on work with robotic navigation, SLAM, or computer vision in a real system
• Comfortable working across hardware and software, the full stack of a physical system
• Python proficiency; experience with ROS or similar frameworks a strong plus
• Eligible for UK security clearance (SC): UK citizen or 5+ years UK residency

Preferred:

• Experience with UAV, UAS, or autonomous aerospace systems
• Familiarity with PX4 or ArduPilot
• Knowledge of RF, radio, or communications systems integration
• Track record of taking a capability from prototype to something that actually gets used
• Comfortable in a role where the scope is real and the priorities occasionally shift with a phone call

We try to take the everyday pressures off your plate, so you can do your best work without worrying about the noise, and the benefits are built around that. It starts with real ownership: share options that vest over three years, so you hold a genuine stake in what we are building. You get a Claude Team account on day one and tools that keep up with you. Bupa private health is fully funded from your first day, the pension is a 6% employer contribution, and leave is generous, with 25 days plus bank holidays, your birthday off, and properly enhanced cover for both parents. The full detail comes with your offer.