Develop the guidance, navigation, and seeker technologies that allow Praetorian's interceptors to find, close on, and defeat aerial targets — autonomously, in GPS-denied and contested environments.

About Praetorian

Praetorian Aeronautics builds advanced autonomous aerial systems designed to protect and defend against the rapidly evolving threat of drone warfare.

Headquartered in Adelaide, we are developing an integrated ecosystem of counter-autonomy systems including:

• Arrow – an autonomous, high-speed, low-cost, VTOL interceptor for kinetic neutralisation of multiple UxS threat-types beyond visual range
• Dagger – a new class of modular, low-cost, autonomous, high-speed interceptor for long-range, high-altitude kinetic neutralisation of UxS targets
• Hadrian – an AI-enhanced command and control system enabling operators to deploy interceptors at scale
• Venator – a long-endurance autonomous mothership UAS capable of deploying interceptors and extending operational reach

Together, these systems enable defence operators to detect, assess, and defeat autonomous threats while maintaining situational dominance in contested environments.

The Role Summary

The hardest problem in autonomous intercept is not building a drone that can fly — it is building one that can navigate without GPS, plan an intercept against a manoeuvring target, and execute a terminal engagement using only onboard sensing. No external support. No human in the loop at the critical moment.

You will join the Effectors team, reporting to the CTO, to develop the GNC and seeker algorithms that sit at the core of Praetorian's intercept capability across Arrow, Dagger, and Venator. That means developing trajectory planning and interception guidance for both mid-course and terminal engagement phases, leading GPS-denied navigation development including visual and multi-source navigation fusion, building optical terminal guidance and seeker logic for target state estimation and intercept execution, and developing sensor fusion approaches robust to degraded and noisy conditions.

You will validate performance from simulation through SITL/HITL to live flight, and work closely with the Lead Embedded Autonomy Engineer to ensure your algorithms are structured for integration into real, deployable systems — not just simulation.

What We're Looking For

• Strong background in guidance, navigation and control — control systems, estimation theory, and trajectory optimisation
• Experience developing GPS-denied navigation approaches and sensor fusion systems
• Experience with optical or IR guidance systems, seeker development, or intercept algorithm design
• Proficiency in Python and C/C++
• Experience with simulation environments and validation through to field testing
• Degree in Aerospace, Electrical, or Systems Engineering — or equivalent research and practical experience

Nice to Have

• Familiarity with MAVLink, PX4, or autopilot integration
• Experience with SITL/HITL environments or Unreal Engine synthetic environments
• Background in multi-agent coordination or TEWA systems
• Experience integrating multiple navigation modalities
• Defence or aerospace autonomy background

Benefits

• Competitive salary and employee share option plan (ESOP)
• Work on advanced autonomy and defence technology
• Join a small, highly technical engineering team
• Real ownership and influence as Praetorian scales
• Professional development and learning opportunities

Interested to find out more? Reach out to us at careers@praetorian-aeronautics.com or hit Apply.