Application Technology Architect – Drone & UAV Applications

Job Title

Application Technology Architect – Drone & UAV Applications

Role Summary

Technical leader responsible for defining and driving end-to-end system architectures for industrial and defense UAV platforms. The role bridges customer requirements, aviation regulations, ecosystem partners, and semiconductor product engineering to shape solution roadmaps and reference platforms.

Primary responsibilities include architecture definition, HW/SW partitioning, ecosystem engagement, and guiding integration, verification, and flight-test activities to accelerate semiconductor adoption in UAV markets.

Experience Level

Senior - requires substantial prior experience; the posting requests 8+ years in drone, UAV, aerospace, robotics, autonomous systems, or embedded-system development with significant system-architecture responsibility.

Responsibilities

Key responsibilities include:

• Define and own end-to-end system architectures covering flight control, mission computing, sensing, propulsion, power, connectivity, and ground-control interfaces.
• Translate use cases into system-level hardware, software, performance, safety, security, and interface requirements.
• Drive HW/SW partitioning across MCUs, MPUs/SoCs, AI accelerators, programmable logic, sensors, connectivity devices, power electronics, and actuators.
• Specify sensing, navigation, sensor fusion, perception, autonomy, and collision-avoidance architectures.
• Define compute architectures for edge AI, computer vision, visual-inertial odometry, SLAM, and autonomous decision-making.
• Develop communication architectures for command & control, telemetry, payload data, Remote ID, V2V links, cloud connectivity, and ground-control systems.
• Define power and propulsion architectures including BMS, power conversion/distribution, motor control, energy optimization, thermal management, and fault monitoring.
• Ensure safety, reliability, cybersecurity, redundancy, fault containment, degraded modes, and fail-safe behavior in system designs.
• Collaborate with product, hardware, software, AI, connectivity, power, motor-control, security, and validation teams; mentor and review designs across teams.
• Engage OEMs, partners, and research organizations; produce reference architectures, evaluation platforms, proofs-of-concept, and application notes.

Requirements

Must-have technical skills and experience:

• 8+ years experience in drone, UAV, aerospace, robotics, autonomous-system, or embedded-system development with system architecture and integration responsibility.
• Proven track record as a systems engineer, system architect, chief engineer, technical lead, or similar on industrial and/or defense UAV platforms.
• Hands-on contribution to at least one UAV platform through architecture, system integration, verification, flight testing, and deployment.
• Deep knowledge of UAV subsystems: flight controllers, mission computers, avionics, propulsion, power, payloads, comms, and ground-control systems.
• Strong embedded-systems understanding: MCUs, MPUs/SoCs, heterogeneous compute, real-time software, embedded Linux, and RTOS.
• Expertise in flight control, estimation, sensor fusion, navigation, GNSS/RTK, perception, and other safety- or mission-critical UAV functions.
• Experience defining safety, reliability, cybersecurity, redundancy strategies, and fail-safe behaviors for complex systems.
• Ability to influence product and technology roadmaps and work cross-functionally with product and engineering teams.

Nice-to-have:

• Experience with PX4, ArduPilot, ROS 2, MAVLink, DDS, or similar UAV/robotics frameworks.
• Familiarity with aviation safety practices and UAV regulations (EASA/FAA Remote ID, BVLOS) and standards such as DO-178C/DO-254/ARP4754A/ARP4761.
• Experience with edge AI, computer vision, SLAM, visual-inertial odometry, radar/LiDAR perception, and AI accelerators.
• Background in electric propulsion, motor control, battery management, or power electronics for aerial systems.
• Experience in cybersecurity for communications, GNSS resilience, anti-jamming, or system-level threat analysis.
• Simulation and model-based systems engineering experience, including software-in-the-loop and hardware-in-the-loop environments.
• Experience supporting certification, flight approvals, or regulatory compliance activities.

Education Requirements

Master's or Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Computer Engineering, Robotics, Mechatronics, Systems Engineering, or a related field.

About the Company

Company: Renesas

Headquarters: Hitachinaka, Japan

Renesas is a global leader in embedded semiconductor solutions, providing high-quality products across automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT sectors. With over 22,000 employees in more than 30 countries, the company focuses on scalable solutions that enhance user experience and drive innovation while committed to sustainability and energy efficiency.