Software Engineer - Mission Systems/Integration at Allen Control Systems (Austin, TX)
Allen Control Systems· Austin, TX·
Role details
Competitive Salary · Equity · Health Insurance · Dental Insurance · Vision Insurance · Paid Time Off
Allen Control Systems at a glance
Defense-tech startup building Bullfrog, an autonomous robotic weapon station that uses AI and computer vision to shoot down drones at a fraction of the cost of missiles.
ACS builds Bullfrog, an autonomous weapon station that mounts a common service machine gun and adds passive optical sensing, machine-vision tracking, and AI fire control to detect and neutralize hostile drones. A human authorizes every shot. The pitch is battlefield economics: driving the cost-per-kill of a drone down to as low as ten dollars.
$242M raised · latest: Series B · $200M · 2026 · backed by Smash Capital, Craft Ventures, Rally Ventures, Inspired Capital
Summary
Join Allen Control Systems to integrate third-party sensors, sensor fusion, and tracking systems into an autonomous defense platform. You will design and build external APIs for command-and-control systems while managing networking and messaging between subsystems.
Job description
Company Overview ACS (Allen Control Systems) is a defense technology company building precision robotic systems for the United States and its allies. Founded by two former U.S. Navy electrical engineers with deep experience in robotics and software, ACS brings together AI, computer vision, precision motion, and advanced hardware to solve complex defense challenges across land, air, and maritime environments.
Our flagship product, Bullfrog, is an autonomous precision weapon system that transforms existing weapons into highly accurate counter-drone systems — giving warfighters a scalable, cost-effective response to one of the fastest-growing threats on the modern battlefield. Bullfrog is deployed with U.S. forces, and ACS works with organizations throughout the U.S. military and national security community.
Following a $200 million Series B at a $2.2 billion valuation, ACS is rapidly expanding manufacturing, accelerating Bullfrog deployments, and developing the next generation of autonomous battlefield systems. This is an opportunity to join a proven, fast-moving team and help scale technology with direct, real-world impact on national security.
ACS is headquartered in Austin, Texas, with additional operations in Alexandria, Virginia; Mountain View, California; and Huntsville, Alabama. For more information, visit allencontrolsystems.com allencontrolsystems.com.
Position Overview
We' are seeking a Software Systems-Integration Engineer to connect our platform to the outside world. In this role you will be responsible for integrating third-party sensors, wiring in sensor fusion and tracking, and building the external API that command-and-control systems and partners consume.
We’re hiring across multiple experience levels, including:
- Associate Software Engineer.
- Software Engineer.
- Senior Software Engineer.
- Staff Software Engineer.
- Senior Staff Software Engineer.
Your title and level will be determined based on your experience, skills, and the scope of responsibility appropriate for the role.
What You'll Do
- Integrate third-party sensors (radar, RF, EO/IR) into the platform.
- Integrate sensor fusion and the nearby-target tracker output from the Perception team.
- Design and build the external API for consumption by command-and-control and partner systems.
- Own networking, transport, and messaging between subsystems and external consumers.
- Build and maintain command-and-control (C2) integrations.
What You'll Need (swap into the core)
- Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, or a related field.
- Strong proficiency in C++ and Python.
- Solid networking fundamentals (TCP/IP, sockets, real-world protocol debugging).
- Experience designing or consuming APIs and integrating heterogeneous systems.
- Distributed-systems fundamentals.
You'll Stand Out
- API design across REST, WebSockets/SSE, and gRPC/protobuf.
- Pub/sub and middleware (Zenoh, DDS, ROS 2, MQTT).
- Sensor / radar / RF integration experience.
- Defense C2 standards or interoperability work.
What We Offer:
- Competitive salary
- ACS Equity Package
- Health, Dental, Vision Insurance
- Paid Time Off
Allen Control Systems is an Equal Opportunity Employer, providing equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment. Allen Control Systems prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.
Why work at Allen Control Systems
- Mission: Directly contribute to protecting soldiers and changing the economics of drone warfare.
- Culture: Described as a remote-friendly organization with a strong engineering focus; HQ in Austin with a satellite office in Alexandria.
- Work Model: Remote core, but many roles require on-site presence in Austin for manufacturing and testing.
- Growth: Hyper-growth stage – employees have significant ownership and impact.
- Tech Stack: State-of-the-art tools: PyTorch, CUDA, Unreal Engine, ROS, Linux, Docker, Git, MLflow, and more.
- Team: High density of talent from SpaceX, Firefly, DoorDash, Lockheed Martin, and Carnegie Mellon.
- Perks: Not publicly detailed; typical for defense startups include competitive compensation, equity, and a chance to work on cutting-edge hardware-software integration.