Software Engineer – Drone Systems & Payload Integration

Taz Drone Solutions (TDS)

Sheffield, Tasmania | Full-time | Competitive Salary + Growth Pathways

Join one of Australia’s most innovative drone engineering companies.

Taz Drone Solutions (TDS) is expanding rapidly across Australia and internationally, delivering world-class drone technologies for the energy, mining, fire management sectors with advanced robotics. We are now seeking a highly skilled Software Engineer to join our engineering team and help build the next generation of integrated drone systems.

About the Role

As a Software Engineer at TDS, you will work closely with our electrical, mechanical, aeronautical, and systems engineers to design and implement custom payload integrations, user interfaces, and operational tooling for our in-house drone platforms.

A core part of this role is the ability to work fluently with QGroundControl—building custom UI panels, modifying the codebase to support new payload behaviour, and ensuring seamless communication between our flight control systems and engineered hardware.

You will be involved in projects spanning:

- Heavy-lift drones (50–150kg)

- Autonomous mission planning & safety systems

- Real-time payload feedback, telemetry & data visualisation

- Custom sensor, winch, and actuator integrations

- Field-tested industrial solutions used by major clients across energy, utilities, and mining

This role is perfect for someone who wants to work on cutting-edge robotics that directly impact real-world operations.

Requirements

Key Responsibilities

- Develop and customise QGroundControl UI components, plugins, and operator workflows.

- Integrate custom payloads into Auterion, Skynode, PX4, and related flight systems.





- Build and maintain mission-critical software that interfaces with sensors, winches, drop-mechanisms, and other on-board systems.

- Work with engineering leads to translate mechanical/electrical requirements into stable software behaviours.

- Contribute to testing, flight trials, validation, debugging, and continuous improvement of drone systems.

- Maintain clean, well-documented code aligned with our engineering processes.

- Support production, field operations, and future R&D; projects as the company scales globally.

Required Skills & Experience

Technical Requirements:

- Strong proficiency in QGroundControl (MUST HAVE)

- UI customisation

- QML/Qt development

- Payload integration workflows

- Experience with PX4, MAVLink, or similar flight-control ecosystems

- Strong skills in C++ and QML/Qt

- Experience integrating hardware systems (sensors, actuators, robotics)

- Understanding of communication protocols (UART, CAN, MAVLink)

- Ability to debug software–hardware interactions in the field and lab

Bonus Experience (not required but highly valued):

- ROS or robotics-focused development

- UI/UX design for real-time operator interfaces

- Linux embedded systems

- Drone industry, UAV payloads, or aerospace experience

Benefits

Why Join TDS?

- Work on some of Australia’s most advanced drone systems

- Be part of a highly skilled, supportive engineering team

- Real career progression as TDS scales across Australia, South America, and beyond

- Opportunities to contribute to groundbreaking projects in power, mining, and environmental protection

- Market-competitive salary + flexibility + on-site R&D; workshop + field trials

- Contribute to technology that improves safety and efficiency across industries

- Live in a beautiful location

📌 Software Engineer (Sheffield)
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📍 Sheffield