Software Engineering Manager

Description

Fortem Technologies is a venture-capital backed company located in Lindon, UT. In a world where

sophisticated drones are commonplace, Fortem Technologies provides the most artificial intelligence(AI) based airspace safety and security solutions on the planet. Fortem Technologies is the only companythat provides a military-tested, commercially available solution that alerts, identifies, and securesagainst drones and other non-cooperative objects in the sky.We value customer satisfaction, teamwork, flexibility, personal integrity & accountability, and a spirit ofgiving back to the community. Job SummaryThe DroneHunter Software Engineering team at Fortem is looking for a highly skilled, highly motivated,technical leader to contribute to and drive work on UAS platforms.This engineering leadership position requires a technical expert capable of architecting andimplementing software solutions for flight control, autonomy, communications, and mission-levelcapabilities. The ideal candidate is an experienced Software Manager with a passion for leading highly technicalteams in a player/coach role. Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead and mentor a team of software engineers, providing technical guidance, coaching, and performance management.
• Drive the end-to-end software development lifecycle for drone systems, including requirements, design, implementation, testing, and release.
• Architect, review, and contribute to mission-critical codebases.
• Ensure robust software integration with ArduPilot, ROS (Robot Operating System), and other middleware frameworks used in drone architectures.
• Partner with electrical, RF, and systems engineering to ensure high-reliability links between airborne platforms and ground control radios.
• Work closely with Fortem internal engineering teams to ensure integration of flight control, autonomy algorithms, sensor fusion, and communications features.
• Champion best practices in code quality, CI/CD, software testing, and documentation.
• Coordinate with product leaders and program managers to plan roadmaps, allocate resources, and manage technical risks.
• Drive innovation in contested, GPS/GNSS-challenged, or RF-denied environments.

Requirements

Education and Required Skills/Experience:

• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Robotics, or related field.
• 5+ years of professional software development experience, including hands-on C++, Python, and Java.
• 2+ years leading or managing a software engineering team (5 or more developers).
• Understanding of RF systems, including radio link performance, modulation, ground-air data paths, and interference concepts relevant to commercial drone command-and-control.
• Strong understanding of embedded or real-time systems development.
• Excellent communication, leadership, planning, and collaboration skills.

Desired Skills/Experience:

• Demonstrated experience working with or integrating ArduPilot and ROS.
• Experience developing or integrating GNSS-denied or degraded-navigation technologies, such as visual-inertial navigation, SLAM, or alternative RF-based positioning.
• Experience with secure communications, mesh networking, or advanced SDR frameworks.
• Familiarity with aviation safety, autonomy algorithms, or UAS regulatory frameworks.

Experience or basic knowledge/understanding of the following:

• JIRA, GitLab, Artifactory, CI/CD and software build best practices.
• Agile software methodology, Scaled Agile Framework, Sprints.
• STM32 / ARM microcontrollers.
• Python for application development or data analysis.
• Building embedded Linux systems

About You:

• Enjoy taking initiative and working with multidisciplinary teams.
• Ability to communicate technical concepts & details effectively.
• Ability to work in a small and fast-paced environment.
• A positive attitude, team-oriented spirit, and enthusiasm for our goals.
• A curious outlook - willingness to learn new things and solutions to fit the problem.
• A strong sense of ownership and passion for completing a job well - attention to detail.
• Ability to work well with all levels of the company regardless of seniority.
• A willingness to work on what is necessary over what is desired.

Why Join Us?

• Work at the forefront of next-generation autonomous aerial systems.
• Lead a talented team solving complex, mission-critical engineering challenges.
• Opportunity to shape software architectures that define the future of UAS aviatio