Senior Software Engineer, Mission Planning

Help Build Europe's Hypersonic Capability   At Hypersonica, we’re redefining what’s possible in European defence technology. We exist to deliver speed, resilience, and technological independence at a pace that sets a new standard. We are a small, elite team working on problems that matter, and solving them fast.   By joining Hypersonica, you’re not stepping into a predefined role. You’re joining a talent dense environment where every individual shapes the direction of the company. Our philosophy is to hire a small number of exceptional people with broad, deep technical capability, strong judgement, and the ability to operate autonomously.   We hire for talent, not rigid boxes. This role represents a business need, but the way it evolves will be shaped by the individual. If you’ve achieved what others said was impossible, or you bring a unique combination of skills that doesn’t fit a traditional mould, we want to hear from you. The work you do here directly contributes to Europe’s technological independence.

What you'll do

• Work with our hardware engineering teams to translate the technical specifications and capabilities of our hardware into mission planning software, enabling operators to plan, simulate and deploy mission packages to our hardware.  

• Work with our UX team to build world class user experiences: planning that feels fast, visual and interactive. You build the real-time engine and services that make this possible.  

• Design and build the mission planning backend: plan generation, configuration, scenario planning and resource availability.  

• Build our software-in-the-loop (SITL) mission simulation environment: allowing scenarios to be realistically tested against battlefield environments before a missile has left the launcher.  

• Build the test harness and automation that run the product end to end against the simulation in CI, on every change.  

• Lead the design of the core data model and message schemas, working with our integration engineer to deploy authorized mission plans to real-world launch systems.  

Who you are

• A software engineer with 5+ years' experience building simulation, planning, decision support or real-time interactive software. You may come from an Aerospace, robotics, automotive, or gaming background.  
• Strong in modern C++ or Rust. A good grasp of numerical methods and floating-point behavior.  
• Experienced with simulation architecture: time-stepped or discrete-event simulation, software-in-the-loop, scenario management, deterministic replay.  
• Rigorous about testing: unit, property-based and scenario tests, and continuous integration.  
• Comfortable starting from a blank page. You can set up a codebase, choose tools, record decisions (for example in architecture decision records), and ship.  
• You use AI coding agents well and critically. You know when to trust their output, how to check it, and what not to hand over.  

What we offer

• A mission driven environment with the opportunity to work on one of Europe’s most consequential defence challenges, with direct impact on sovereign capability and security.
• Daily collaboration with top experts across engineering, operations, and defence, with real opportunity to learn from the best, contribute, and grow.
• High ownership and autonomy; no time tracking, no micromanagement, just clear objectives and accountability for outcomes.
• A fast paced environment where good ideas are implemented quickly, and feedback from test and flight drives real decisions.
• A culture that values clarity, integrity, and excellence, and supports people who take initiative and push boundaries responsibly.
• Competitive compensation and real share options aligned to responsibility and impact, not tenure or hierarchy.

At Hypersonica, every hire raises the bar. We are deliberately small, intensely capable, and deeply mission-driven. If this role feels like a strong fit, or if you believe you bring something exceptional that goes beyond the description, we encourage you to apply.   Hypersonica is an equal-opportunity employer and assesses candidates solely on merit, capability, and potential.   You can apply directly to this role or reach out to Nathan Sweeney, Head of Talent. We review every application and aim to respond to all candidates within two weeks, whether the answer is yes or no.