Why Searching for Niche Engineering Roles Is Still Broken
If you've ever tried hiring a GNC engineer, a perception software engineer, or a firmware engineer for an autonomous systems team, you know how frustrating it is.
LinkedIn doesn't have filters for these roles. You type "GNC Engineer" into the search bar and get back guidance counselors, generic software engineers, and people who listed "navigation" somewhere in their profile because they helped with a website redesign.
The problem with searching for specialized roles
Most recruiting tools were built for common titles. Software Engineer, Product Manager, Data Scientist. The filters, the autocomplete, the matching algorithms - all optimized for high-volume roles.
But defense, aerospace, robotics, and autonomous systems companies don't hire generic software engineers. They need people with very specific domain expertise:
- GNC Engineers who understand guidance, navigation, and control systems
- Perception Engineers who build computer vision pipelines for autonomous vehicles or drones
- Sensor Fusion Engineers combining LIDAR, radar, and camera data in real-time
- Embedded Software Engineers writing firmware for flight controllers
- SLAM Engineers building simultaneous localization and mapping systems
These are real job titles held by real people. But traditional recruiting tools just weren't built for them.
What we built
We just shipped a feature called Popular Searches - preset search buttons that let you search for clusters of specialized roles with one click.
The first one we built is Robotics & Autonomous. One click, thousands of matching profiles across dozens of specialized titles. Each with experience history, skills, and salary estimates.
The market is moving fast
The robotics and defense industry is booming. SpaceX, Anduril, Shield AI, Joby Aviation, Skydio - these companies are all competing for the same small pool of specialized engineers. The ones who can build autonomous systems, write real-time embedded code, or design perception pipelines.
And these engineers are almost invisible on traditional platforms. They don't optimize their LinkedIn profiles for recruiter keywords. They're heads-down building things that fly, drive, or navigate autonomously.
Filtering by industry
We also added Defense & Aerospace as an industry filter. So you can combine the Robotics & Autonomous preset with a defense industry filter and get exactly the people who are building these systems at companies like Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, Boeing, or Anduril.
Try it yourself
Go to the search page and click the Robotics & Autonomous button below the search bar. See what comes back. No boolean strings, no filter wrestling, no "did you mean navigation website engineer" nonsense.
Free to try, no credit card needed.