Software Architect

Principal Software Architect – Ground Automation & Distributed Systems

Partnering with an innovative aerospace technology organisation, I am supporting the search for a Principal Software Architect to define and lead the software architecture underpinning next-generation ground automation and fleet management systems for advanced airborne platforms.

This is a strategic leadership role focused on designing resilient, secure, and highly available distributed systems that support large-scale autonomous operations. The successful candidate will establish the architectural vision across cloud, edge, and embedded computing environments while balancing modern software engineering practices with the stringent safety and reliability standards required in aerospace.

Key Responsibilities

• Define the architecture for scalable ground automation and fleet management platforms.
• Design geographically distributed systems with high availability, redundancy, and automated failover capabilities.
• Develop secure cloud and edge computing architectures for mission-critical operations.
• Lead integration with external airspace management and regulatory systems.
• Design resilient operational frameworks capable of maintaining functionality during partial system failures.
• Implement Zero-Trust security principles, PKI infrastructure, and modern cybersecurity best practices.
• Architect deployment frameworks supporting navigation, health monitoring, risk assessment, and automation services.
• Drive modern CI/CD strategies including automated testing, deployment validation, rollback, and release management.
• Develop sensor fusion and state estimation architectures to improve operational awareness and decision-making.
• Collaborate with engineering, software, operations, and safety teams to ensure scalable, compliant solutions.

Required Experience

• Extensive experience designing large-scale distributed systems with high availability and resilience.
• Expertise in cloud-native architecture, Kubernetes, containerisation, serverless computing, and microservices.
• Strong knowledge of distributed communications technologies, including Protocol Buffers (Protobuf).
• Significant experience in Site Reliability Engineering (SRE), DevSecOps, and Chaos Engineering.
• Deep understanding of Zero-Trust security architecture, PKI, and cybersecurity best practices.
• Proven experience leading software architecture for complex, safety-critical, or mission-critical environments.
• Strong stakeholder management and the ability to communicate complex technical concepts across multidisciplinary teams.

Desirable Experience

• Experience integrating with airspace management, autonomous systems, or aviation APIs.
• Background in aerospace, UAVs, autonomous platforms, defence, robotics, or other highly regulated industries.
• Exposure to AI-assisted security analysis or advanced cybersecurity research.
• Bachelor's or Master's degree in Computer Science, Software Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a related technical discipline.

This opportunity is well suited to senior software architects who enjoy solving complex systems challenges, leading technical strategy, and building the resilient software infrastructure that enables the next generation of autonomous aerospace operations.