---
title: 'Forward Deployed Engineer at Auterion'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-auterion-london-hwyewc7hb3d7'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-10-14'
---

# Forward Deployed Engineer at Auterion

- **Company:** Auterion
- **Location:** London, United Kingdom
- **Posted:** 2026-05-27
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-10-14
- **Apply:** https://auterion.com/company/careers-open-position/8566106002?gh_jid=8566106002

## Job description

As a Forward Deployed Engineer at Auterion, you will sit at the front line of our most ambitious sales engagements, working directly with defence and commercial customers to design, demonstrate and deploy autonomy solutions built on AuterionOS. This is a hands-on, flight-line role: you will build, fly and troubleshoot drone systems in front of customers, translate operational requirements into technical solutions, and give our sales and mission development teams the credibility to win the largest and most complex programmes.

You will bring real, practical experience of building and flying unmanned aircraft, ideally on PX4 or ArduPilot, combined with a strong grounding in avionics or aeronautical engineering. This is not a desk-bound pre-sales role. You will be expected to get your hands dirty integrating payloads, tuning autopilots, running test flights and solving problems live in front of customers and partners.

## Responsibilities and Duties

- Act as the lead technical authority in customer engagements, translating mission requirements into concrete system architectures and demonstrable solutions built on AuterionOS and Skynode.
- Build, configure, integrate and fly drone platforms using PX4 or ArduPilot to support customer trials, technical demonstrations and proof-of-concept deployments.
- Design and deliver technical demonstrations, flight trials and integration proofs that showcase AuterionOS capability against customer and NATO/defence requirements.
- Provide deep avionics and airframe expertise, including autopilot tuning, sensor and payload integration, power systems and airworthiness considerations.
- Partner with the sales and business development team to shape bids, technical proposals and RFI/RFP responses, ensuring solutions are credible, deployable and differentiated.
- Diagnose and resolve technical issues in the field during customer trials and demonstrations, working across flight stack, hardware and software layers.
- Build strong relationships with customer engineers and operators, acting as a trusted technical advisor throughout the sales cycle and into deployment.
- Feed customer and market requirements back into product and engineering teams to influence the AuterionOS roadmap.
- Support test activities, exhibitions, customer visits and operational deployments across the UK and NATO ecosystem, including significant travel.
- Produce clear technical documentation, solution architectures and integration guidance to support bids and deployments.

## Qualifications and Skills

- Demonstrable hands-on experience building and flying drones, ideally using PX4 or ArduPilot.
- Proven hands on experience with C++, Docker & Linux.
- Strong background in avionics, aeronautical engineering or a related discipline, with practical understanding of airframes, autopilots, sensors and payload integration.
- Experience working with MAVLink, ground control stations and flight test procedures.
- Proven ability to operate as a technical lead in front of customers, including live demonstrations and field troubleshooting.
- Strong communication skills, with the ability to translate complex technical detail into clear, compelling customer-facing narratives.
- Experience supporting sales, business development or pre-sales engineering functions is highly desirable.
- Degree in Aeronautical Engineering, Avionics, Electronics, Physics or a related engineering discipline preferred.
- Comfortable with frequent travel and field deployment, including to customer and partner sites across the UK and NATO nations.
- UK citizenship and eligibility for UK security clearance required.

## Benefits

- Flexible working hours
- Stock Options
- Generous holiday allowance
- Company pension plan
- Mental health and wellbeing support
- Regular team social events

## About Auterion

We are building the leading software platform for AI-powered autonomous systems for enterprise and government customers. Our team is supporting the most important missions and solving the most challenging problems.

At Auterion, we bring together the sharpest minds who love to solve the hardest problems.

Join a vibrant team built on innovation, openness, and excellence, where you’ll be empowered to develop ideas, collaborate across all levels, and make an impact that matters.

## About Auterion

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Auterion provides an open operating system and software platform that connects, controls, and orchestrates fleets of autonomous drones and robots for defense, industrial, and civil missions.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Corporate Minority funding stage; total raised $140M)
- **Headquarters**: Arlington, Virginia, United States (with offices in Switzerland, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, and Rwanda)
- **Founded**: 2017
- **Founders**: Lorenz Meier (Co-Founder & CEO) and Markus Achtelik (CTO)

## Core Business
- **Primary industries**: Defense & government, public safety, energy (oil & gas, utilities), infrastructure & construction, agriculture, inspection.
- **Target customers**: B2B, Government/Defense (U.S. and allied nations), drone manufacturers, large enterprise fleets.
- **Mission**: "Accelerating global adoption of autonomous robotics" by creating the connected operating system for the next evolution in computing. [auterion.com](https://auterion.com/company/)

## Products & Services
- **Auterion Mission Control** – A single application to plan, execute, and monitor drone operations across a global fleet; provides live situational awareness, cloud-based analytics, and standardized mission workflows. [auterion.com](https://auterion.com/)
- **AuterionOS** – The vendor-independent operating system for autonomous robots, built on open standards (PX4 open source), enabling continuous deployment of apps, automation of complex workflows, and consistent user experience across heterogeneous vehicles. [auterion.com](https://auterion.com/)
- **Skynode X** – Integrated compute and autopilot hardware that runs mission planning, real-time video, fleet operations, predictive maintenance, and cloud connectivity. Over 100,000 units under contract. [auterion.com](https://auterion.com/)
- **Long Range One Way Attack** – A defense-specific capability delivering precision effects at distances up to 1,000 miles, using Auterion’s software-defined autonomy stack. [auterion.com](https://auterion.com/)
- **Government Services** – NDAA-compliant, trusted systems for U.S. and allied government use, including cargo, surveillance, and swarm operations.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation / Market Cap**: Not publicly available (private company).
- **Key Metrics**: Total funding $140M; estimated annual revenue $100M; headcount of 150 employees (+61.1% YoY); over 100,000 Skynode units under contract. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/auterion) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/auterion)
- **Notable Investors**: Rheinmetall (strategic), Lakestar, Mosaic Ventures, Costanoa Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and eight others. [cbinsights.com](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/auterion)
- **Growth Signals**: Nominated by the U.S. Government as the standard for its future drone program; achieved first global combat drone swarm live-fire test (single operator striking three targets simultaneously); 462.5% YoY increase in job postings; expansion into UK defense (GM UK Defense) and EU defense. [auterion.com](https://auterion.com/company/) [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/auterion)

## Competitive Advantages
- **Open-source foundation**: Built on the PX4 autopilot and Dronecode ecosystem, giving customers vendor independence and continuous innovation.
- **Government standard**: Designated by the U.S. Government as the standard for its future drone program – a powerful moat in defense procurement.
- **Scale of deployment**: Over 100,000 Skynode units under contract, orders of magnitude ahead of competitors.
- **Proven in combat**: Live-fire swarm tests with the U.S. military demonstrate real-world tactical effectiveness.

## Strategic Focus
- **Defense and swarm operations**: Scaling long-range one-way attack and coordinated swarm capabilities for allied nations (U.K., EU, Indo-Pacific).
- **Ecosystem expansion**: Transitioning from single-drone ops to network-centric, multi-domain autonomy across air, land, and sea.
- **Commercial verticals**: Continued investment in inspection, energy, agriculture, and public safety use cases.
- **International growth**: Building local teams and partnerships in Europe, Canada, and Rwanda.

## Why Work Here
- **Impactful mission**: Build systems that deploy directly to military and industrial field operations – “build swarms, not drones.” [auterion.com/careers](https://auterion.com/company/careers/)
- **Engineering culture**: Ship code that reaches the field in weeks; decisions made quickly with clear ownership; emphasis on speed and execution over bureaucracy.
- **Values**: “Be bold and audacious,” “Own the outcome,” “Finish the race,” “Team over players,” “Keep moving forward.” [auterion.com/careers](https://auterion.com/company/careers/)
- **Growth opportunities**: 45 active job openings with strong hiring trend (+462.5% YoY); roles range from software engineering to GNC, systems engineering, deployment, and factory operations. [linkedin.com](https://www.linkedin.com/company/auterion)
- **International experience**: Transatlantic travel opportunities; work across U.S., Switzerland, Germany, UK, Canada, and Rwanda.
- **No degree obsession**: “We value performance and merit, not just degrees.” [auterion.com/careers](https://auterion.com/company/careers/)

## Sources
1. [auterion.com – Company & About](https://auterion.com/company/)
2. [auterion.com – Careers](https://auterion.com/company/careers/)
3. [cbinsights.com – Auterion Profile](https://www.cbinsights.com/company/auterion)
4. [linkedin.com – Auterion Company Page](https://www.linkedin.com/company/auterion)

## Other roles at Auterion

- [DevOps Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/devops-engineer-auterion-zurich-0stwwmqfz344) — Zurich, Switzerland
- [Senior Software Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-auterion-munich-kyj1p7xaqeyb) — Munich, Germany
- [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-auterion-san-francisco-0m92em11j3zt) — San Francisco, CA
- [Manufacturing Finance Manager](https://feeny.ai/job/manufacturing-finance-manager-auterion-munich-q53p797ac98f) — Munich, Germany
- [Electronics Engineering Intern](https://feeny.ai/job/electronics-engineering-intern-auterion-zurich-139a0r957z5k) — Zurich, Switzerland
- [Production Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/production-engineer-auterion-zurich-eejwy5kxm0d1) — Zurich, Switzerland
- [Hardware Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/hardware-engineer-auterion-munich-rfzpcvbzkk8q) — Munich, Germany
- [Senior Computer Vision Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-computer-vision-engineer-auterion-zurich-85eymhxmqpfs) — Zurich, Switzerland
- [Forward Deployed Engineer](https://feeny.ai/job/forward-deployed-engineer-auterion-munich-51xk0xs46mtm) — Munich, Germany
- [Drone Assembly Technician](https://feeny.ai/job/drone-assembly-technician-auterion-zurich-c8sngexvt2fn) — Zurich, Switzerland