Skip to content
NEXTMOVEFDE careers · United States

Senior Software Engineer - Rust

AI summary of the role

Senior Rust engineer to build high-performance, distributed systems for human-machine-AI teaming and autonomous capabilities at the tactical edge.

What you’ll do

  • Design and implement high-performance distributed software systems in Rust for cloud-native and edge environments
  • Participate in system architecture, network topologies, hardware evaluation, and engineering reviews
  • Develop software supporting human-in-the-loop and human-on-the-loop autonomy workflows
  • Build infrastructure for deterministic builds, reproducible environments, and OTA update mechanisms

What you’ll bring

  • Professional experience in software engineering, embedded systems, or firmware development delivering production-grade product
  • Strong proficiency in Rust
  • Experience integrating with microcontroller peripherals and hardware interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, USB)
  • Working knowledge of distributed systems, networking protocols, trust systems, and modern data patterns

Technologies

Rust · no_std · SPI · I2C · UART · Ethernet · USB · AXI · TCP/UDP · BLE/LoRa · CRDTs · OTA

About Defense Unicorns

Builds open-source, airgap-native software delivery platforms for DoD mission systems across cloud, on-prem, and tactical-edge environments.

Series A

Source and classification

Internal deployment & tooling · Evidence for this classification:

About the Role We are seeking a mission-driven Rust Software Engineer to build resilient software systems that enable human-machine-AI teaming and autonomous capabilities for military operators at the tactical edge. In this role, you will design and implement high-performance systems in Rust that operate in constrained, contested environments. You will contribute across the full system lifecycle — from architecture and hardware integration through simulation, testing, and field deployment. You will work alongside engineers, researchers, and operators to develop systems that fuse sensing, autonomy, and decision support while ensuring traceable, deterministic builds and reliable deployments in mission-critical environments. This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy systems programming, autonomy, and solving real-world problems for national security missions. Responsibilities Design
More from the job description

About the Role We are seeking a mission-driven Rust Software Engineer to build resilient software systems that enable human-machine-AI teaming and autonomous capabilities for military operators at the tactical edge. In this role, you will design and implement high-performance systems in Rust that operate in constrained, contested environments. You will contribute across the full system lifecycle — from architecture and hardware integration through simulation, testing, and field deployment. You will work alongside engineers, researchers, and operators to develop systems that fuse sensing, autonomy, and decision support while ensuring traceable, deterministic builds and reliable deployments in mission-critical environments. This role is ideal for engineers who enjoy systems programming, autonomy, and solving real-world problems for national security missions. Responsibilities Design and implement high-performance, distributed, software systems in Rust, targeting cloud-native as well as resource-constrained and edge computing environments Participate in system architecture, network topologies, hardware part evaluation, and engineering reviews for both existing product revisions and new systems Develop software/models systems that supports human-in-the-loop and human-on-the-loop autonomy workflows for distributed operations Build infrastructure enabling deterministic build [... source excerpt omitted ...] stain systems, supporting integration and various exercises and operational events Optimize systems for performance, reliability, power consumption, and maintainability Required Qualifications Professional experience in software engineering, embedded systems, or firmware development - delivering production-grade product Strong proficiency in Rust - experience in low-level, embedded or no_std environments a bonus Experience integrating with microcontroller peripherals and hardware interfaces (SPI, I2C, UART, Ethernet, USB, etc.) Familiarity with software design, algorithm implementation, debugging/testing/profiling, and performance optimization Working knowledge of: Distributed [... source excerpt omitted ...] ommunication skills and ability to collaborate across engineering disciplines U.S. citizenship and ability to obtain and maintain a Top Secret / SCI security clearance Preferred Qualifications Experience developing autonomy, robotics, or human-machine-AI teaming systems Experience applying machine learning techniques, including supervised/unsupervised learning, clustering, and classification Experience with software-defined radio, MANET, and industrial/robotics communications systems Experience optimizing systems for speed, size, power consumption, and cost Experience contributing to open-source projects or industry standards bodies Experience deploying systems in contested or

How jobs are selected

Employer postings · Data from · Sources