Software Engineer, Backend - DoorDash Air

About the Team DoorDash Labs is an independent team within DoorDash. We explore robotics and automation to transform last-mile logistics in the long term. If you have a passion for applying cutting-edge technology to solve complex problems and enhance delivery experiences for millions of users, we want to talk to you! The Air team is focused on bringing the dream of fast, efficient, and delightful last mile delivery through the air to life. As one of the leaders in this space, we believe strongly in the promise of combining advanced robotics, aviation, and operational innovation to bring this high flying technology into our 3-sided marketplace. We are a team of doers, heavily focused on bringing our products and visions to market. About the Role Are you an engineer passionate about using UAV technology to reimagine logistics? Do you thrive in developing and deploying state-of-the-art systems in real-world environments? Do you love getting your hands dirty and turning large visions into practical realities? If so, we want to talk to you! You're excited about this opportunity because you will... Design and implement backend services for autonomous drone delivery that integrates with core DoorDash data, focusing on intelligent path planning, real-time fleet management, and dynamic airspace awareness. Develop and maintain robust, scalable, and fault-tolerant systems to manage a fleet of delivery drones, ensuring safe and efficient operations. Implement simulations and testing frameworks to validate the performance and reliability of path planning algorithms. Improve performance, reliability, scalability, and security for our drone backend systems, with a particular emphasis on ensuring safe and compliant drone operations. Introduce tools and best practices to accelerate our drone development process and ensure adherence to aviation regulations. We're excited about you because you have... B.S., M.S., or Ph.D. in Computer Science, Robotics, Aerospace Engineering, or a related field. 6+ years of industry experience as a software engineer, with a focus on backend systems, robotics, or autonomous systems. Strong experience in developing and implementing algorithms for path planning. Experience with simulations and testing frameworks for robotics or autonomous systems. Experience with either Kotlin, or C++. Ability to improve efficiency, scalability, and stability of distributed systems, especially in a real-time operational context. Experience with service-oriented architecture, writing REST APIs, unit testing, and architectural design. Understanding of networking and communication protocols relevant to robotics and IoT (e.g., TCP/IP, UDP, MQTT). Experience with SQL or NoSQL databases. Familiarity with aviation regulations and safety standards (e.g., FAA Part 107) is a strong plus. Nice to Have Experience with these technologies is not required but helpful. Familiarity with Kotlin gRPC, Kafka, Redis, Postgres, or Cassandra AWS, Kubernetes, Docker Experience with ROS (Robot Operating System) or other robotics middleware Familiarity with geospatial data and mapping technologies (GIS) We use Covey as part of our hiring and / or promotional process for jobs in NYC and certain features may qualify it as an AEDT. As part of the evaluation process we provide Covey with job requirements and candidate submitted applications. We began using Covey Scout for Inbound on August 21, 2023. Please see the independent bias audit report covering our use of Covey here . Compensation The successful candidate's starting pay will fall within the pay range listed below and is determined based on job-related factors including, but not limited to, skills, experience, qualifications, work location, and market conditions. Base salary is localized according to an employee’s work location. Ranges are market-dependent and may be modified in the future. In addition to base salary, the compensation for this role includes opportunities for equity grants. Talk to your…