(Senior) Backend Engineer C++ (All Genders)

At Stark, we forge the future of European and national security through cutting-edge, AI-driven technology and unmatched engineering precision. As a premier defence technology company, our mission is clear: to equip NATO Allies and their partners with next-generation autonomous defence platforms and advanced AI-driven software built to perform in the world’s most demanding environments. We believe that true security stems from relentless innovation. By combining elite engineering talent with agile technology and an AI-native operational culture, Stark turns complex defence challenges into field-tested, multi-domain solutions. WHY JOIN US • The software and systems you work on directly protect personnel and defend European and national sovereignty. • You will work alongside industry-leading minds on autonomous systems, advanced propulsion, and secure cyber platforms. • We foster a fast-paced, collaborative environment where bold ideas are supported by serious R&D backing. About the Team Minerva is STARK's command and control software — the brain that connects operators to autonomous systems across multiple domains in real time. The Minerva team is a small, senior software group based in Berlin and Munich, working directly with our systems and hardware teams to build mission-critical C2 capabilities deployed in active operational environments. We move fast, ship real software, and operate under constraints most engineers never encounter — low-bandwidth networks, air-gapped devices, high-stakes decision loops. There is no room for abstraction for its own sake. Everything we build ends up in the hands of real operators in the field. Your Mission This is not a "standard" backend role. You won't be building CRUD apps for a web store. You will be building the high-performance, low-latency engine at the heart of Minerva Frontline, our Command & Control (C2) Software, enabling mission planning and operations of Aerial and Maritime asset swarms in real world conditions. We are looking for C++ developers to build out our core server-side architecture enabling the increasingly complex CONOPS required by NATO’s Armed forces. You will be responsible for how we maintain a global battlefield state, how we translate high-level operator intents into machine-executable actions, and how we stream real-time telemetry to the frontline. You will work in a high-density engineering environment alongside robotics, safety, and mission planning experts. If you care about RAII, memory safety, and squeezing every ounce of performance out of real hardware in the field to ensure mission success, this is the role. What we build: • The System Brain: You will develop the core C++ services that orchestrate UAV and USV swarms, maintaining a synchronized and robust battlefield state across distributed systems. • Mission Control APIs: You will design and implement high-performance gRPC and REST APIs that bridge the gap between our frontend C2 interface and the autonomous vehicles in the field. • Real-Time Data Pipelines: You will build and optimize the telemetry pipelines that handle high-frequency data from diverse sensors, ensuring low-latency synchronization and delivery. • Scalable Architecture: You will expand our current C++ architecture to support "affordable mass"—scaling from controlling 4 to 20+ vehicles simultaneously. • Tactical Integration: You will implement military standards and protocols (such as STANAG), ensuring our systems are interoperable and battle-ready. • Robustness & Testing: You will build and maintain the test suites, ensuring our code performs reliably under the most contested conditions. Responsibilities • A C++ Native: You write clean, performant Modern C++ (17/20/23). You understand the cost of every allocation and the v