Senior Software Engineer - Navigation & Path Planning

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CompanyFounded in 2020, Ribbit builds and operates autonomous airplanes. We develop technology that enables uncrewed gate-to-gate operations, having completed hundreds of autonomous flight hours on different aircraft, flown 10K+ hours in simulation, and secured flight authorities for remotely and optionally piloted flight. From defending sovereignty to delivering food and medical supplies, we are a trusted partner that businesses and governments rely on to test, operate, and deploy affordable autonomous aircraft. You can check out our videos here.
We believe that technology should be developed for and with the customer. In 2023, we signed our first federal contract with the Government of Canada, during which we performed Canada’s first autonomous gate-to-gate flight between two airports. Since then, we have won several additional contracts, including contracts with the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) and the Department of National Defence (DND) spanning platform, mission, and collaborative autonomy. We pride ourselves on knowing the customer better than themselves, serving them better than anyone else, and ensuring they succeed in a world with everyone else.
This year alone, we performed the world's first demonstration of collaborative teaming between an autonomous airplane and an autonomous helicopter. We also deployed Canada's first optionally piloted aircraft with a military callsign. We are now building novel autonomous aircraft for DND and Canada's allies, aligning our immediate defence clients with a backlog of interest across northern wholesalers, public safety agencies, freight forwarders, and humanitarian organizations. Autonomy is reshaping the way we move, understand, and protect the world.
Our team has years of experience with piloting, commercial drone operations, and autonomous mobile robotics—we're concentrating the world's best software, robotics, and aeronautical expertise to pursue our mission of making air transportation accessible to everyone. If you're up for the challenge, we want to hear from you.
Position OverviewAs a Senior Navigation Engineer, you will collaborate with peers to:
Lead development of the navigation stack: mission and flight planning, trajectory generation, and the guidance targets passed to the flight controller. You will shape its architecture and roadmap, lead design reviews, and hold the bar on code quality
Work with the other navigation engineers to deliver high-quality software, scoping the work and keeping design, review, and release standards consistent
Stay hands-on: write production C++, review the hardest changes, and prototype new capability
Represent navigation in design reviews with the state estimation, controls, interfaces, and flight-test teams, and mentor the engineers who join the team
Support flight trials, analyse flight data, and turn operational and pilot feedback into navigation improvements
Your Key Objectives Will Include
Developing flight planning for every phase of flight (takeoff, departure, cruise, circuit, approach, landing, loiter, search) using standard aviation procedures
Planning in three dimensions within aircraft performance (turn radius, climb and descent rates, speed schedules) and constraints such as terrain, obstacles, and airspace
Owning global navigation accuracy on the WGS84 ellipsoid (geodesics, ECEF/NED/ENU transformations, datums, altitude references), at any distance and latitude
Designing re-planning and rejoin strategies for when the aircraft leaves its plan or conditions change, and validating every plan as flyable before it reaches the aircraft
Writing production C++ to safety-critical standards, tested at unit, integration, and simulation (SITL/HIL) level
Owning navigation's contribution to the safety case and certification evidence, and supporting flight-test campaigns
Other Details
No. of Positions: 1
Duration: Permanent Full-Time, starting December 2026
Base Compensation: 153920 to 168480
This is a hybrid role involving remote work and on-site presence to support field tests—you must be in the Greater Toronto Area or willing to relocate
Competitive and comprehensive compensation (e.G. 3 weeks of vacation upon joining, comprehensive health and wellness plans)
You must be eligible to hold a Government of Canada security clearance at the Reliability or Secret level, and pass security assessment for the Controlled Goods Program
Qualifications
A university degree in aerospace, mechanical, electrical, or software engineering, computer science, robotics, or a related field
Experience developing navigation, flight management, or guidance software that has flown
Modern C++ (C++17/20) on Linux, with libraries such as Eigen and GeographicLib
Strong understanding of aviation navigation: en-route, VFR and IFR procedures, holding patterns, approaches, and RNAV/RNP
Strong knowledge of geodesy: WGS84, geodesic and great-circle calculations, and geodetic, ECEF, and local tangent-plane frames
Experience planning paths and trajectories in 3D, including turn geometry, climb and descent profiles, and wind effects
Experience testing in simulation (e.G. X-Plane, JSBSim, Gazebo) and against recorded flight data
Ability to lead design reviews, mentor peers, and write clear documentation
Preferred And Bonus Qualifications Include Experience With
Developing and/or flight-testing autonomous aircraft or drones in a professional setting
A pilot licence or flight training, or operational experience with flight planning and ATC procedures
Aviation navigation standards and data (e.G. ARINC 424, RTCA DO-236/DO-283, ICAO PANS-OPS)
Terrain, obstacle, and airspace data (e.G. digital elevation models, geofencing, airspace boundaries)
Trajectory optimisation, classical planners (e.G. Dubins paths, A*, RRT*), or search patterns (e.G. IAMSAR)
Safety-critical standards and processes (e.G. DO-178C, MISRA C++, static analysis)
You also possess the soft skills to work in a high-stakes, tight-knit company, such as:
Openness to give and receive feedback
Adaptability when priorities move
Self-awareness about your own strengths and gaps
Taking initiative with minimal guidance
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