Senior Software Engineer, Developer Productivity at Skydio (San Mateo California, United States)
Skydio· San Mateo California, United States·
Role details
Skydio at a glance
Autonomous drones and flight software for public safety, infrastructure inspection, and national security, all designed and assembled in the USA.
Skydio builds autonomous drones (the X10, indoor R10, and defense-grade X10D), docks that let them fly and recharge unattended, and the Skydio Cloud software that plans missions and manages fleets. The whole platform runs on the company's own computer-vision autonomy, so drones avoid obstacles and fly without a trained pilot. It sells to public safety agencies, infrastructure operators, and defense forces.
$340M+ raised · latest: Series F · $110M · 2026 ($4.4B valuation) · backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, IVP, Next47
Job description
Skydio is the leading US drone company and the world leader in autonomous flight, the key technology for the future of drones and aerial mobility. The Skydio team combines deep expertise in artificial intelligence, best-in-class hardware and software product development, operational excellence, and customer obsession to empower a broader, more diverse audience of drone users, from utility inspectors to first responders, soldiers in battlefield scenarios, and beyond. About the Team: You will be an integral member of our cross-functional infrastructure team. Working closely with each team of engineers, you will identify the areas that can be enhanced to lower developer’s cognitive load, and make our engineering workflows and pipelines even more efficient. You’ll write common tools, provide development best practices, and guide with thoughtful leadership as we deliver software for our growing customer base world-wide. About the role: As a Developer Productivity Engineer focusing on Cloud Infrastructure, you will work on designing and building scalable internal tools that enhance our engineers abilities to write, test, and release software with confidence. If you’re passionate about knowing how everything works from top to bottom, learning new technologies, and automating wherever possible, we’d love to hear from you. How You’ll Make an Impact:
- Re-architect our build and compute infrastructure to provide developers a delightful experience
- Use technologies like containerization, remote caching, and job orchestration to optimize build setup and runtime
- Analyze system usage to improve time-to-insight in the build system
- Understand and improve developer workflows to reduce onboarding time for new developers
- Figure out how to make these workflow improvements while helping the system be more cost-efficient.
What Makes You a Good Fit:
- Understand cloud platforms architecture, especially networking, security, storage, and resilient application topologies
- Prior experience implementing Continuous Deployment and Continuous Integration practices
- Prior experience writing and maintaining Terraform
- Prior experience using Bazel
- Can write and test software in Go, Python, or C++
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or relevant experience
- Obtaining FAA Part 107 certification within the first 60 days of employment is strongly encouraged for all Skydio employees and required for certain positions.
Compensation: At Skydio, our compensation packages for regular, full-time employees include competitive base salaries, equity in the form of stock options, and comprehensive benefits packages. Compensation will vary based on factors, including skill level, proficiencies, transferable knowledge, and experience. Relocation assistance may also be provided for eligible roles. The annual base salary range for this position is $200,000 - $240,000*. Fundamentally, we believe that equity is the key to long-term financial growth, and we ensure all regular, full-time employees have the opportunity to significantly benefit from the company's success. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to enroll in the Company’s group health insurance plans. Regular, full-time employees are eligible to receive the following benefits: Paid vacation time, sick leave, holiday pay and 401K savings plan. This position and all associated benefits are subject to applicable federal, state, and local laws, as well as the Company’s policies and eligibility criteria. *Compensation for certain positions may vary based on the position’s location.
#LI-WA1
At Skydio we believe that diversity drives innovation. We have created a multidisciplinary environment that embraces the power of diverse perspectives to create elegant solutions for complex problems. We are committed to growing our network of people, programs, and resources to nurture an inclusive culture. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or other characteristics protected by federal, state or local anti-discrimination laws. For positions located in the United States of America, Skydio, Inc. uses E-Verify to confirm employment eligibility. To learn more about E-Verify, including your rights and responsibilities, please visit e-verify.gov
Why work at Skydio
- Purpose-driven impact – work on tech that “makes our world safer and more efficient” (autonomous drones for first responders, search & rescue, battlefield awareness).
- Cutting-edge engineering – stack spans AI/robotics, computer vision, cloud, mobile, aerodynamics, sensors, and hardware; described as “the Mount Everest of technology.”
- Collaborative culture – “intense but rewarding”; teams include world-class engineers, special forces operators, and industry experts.
- Hybrid/office – headquarters in San Mateo (Bay Area) with manufacturing in Hayward; satellite offices in Boston, Japan, and India. Many engineering roles are on-site or hybrid, but some positions list remote (US) availability.
- Notable perks – no explicit perks listed, but culture emphasizes real-world impact, cross-functional work, and autonomy to solve hard problems.