1 year ago
Base Salary
$183k - $274k/yr
Responsibilities
- Integrate autonomy software onto unmanned aircraft across onboard compute, sensors, and control interfaces.
- Build, configure, validate, and prepare flight-ready systems while coordinating hardware/software compatibility and mission readiness.
- Travel to flight-test sites to support live operations, safety checks, system bring-up, and time-critical troubleshooting.
- Diagnose and resolve integration issues across autonomy software stacks and embedded systems.
- Manage mission data collection and post-test analysis to refine autonomy behaviors and identify improvements.
- Collaborate with autonomy, GNC, systems, and test teams to deliver and validate mission-critical functionality.
- Develop tools and processes to improve integration timelines, flight-test reliability, and team efficiency.
- Support documentation and system-level validation for certification, airworthiness, and defense compliance.
Requirements
- A BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a similar field, or equivalent practical experience.
- Typically at least 7 years of related experience with a bachelor's degree, 5 years with a master's degree, or 4 years with a PhD, or equivalent work experience.
- Proficiency in C++ and Python, with familiarity with real-time operating systems.
- Proficiency in Linux-based development, embedded systems, and system diagnostics.
- Knowledge of sensor integration, sensor fusion, and middleware frameworks such as ROS and DDS.
- Hands-on experience supporting flight demonstrations or live exercises.
- Experience with simulation tools and environments such as AFSIM and NGTS for testing and validation.
- Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.
- Preferred experience includes unmanned aerial systems, flight-test campaigns, autonomy stacks, flight-control systems, GNC pipelines, sensor integration, electronics debugging, avionics bring-up, testing automation, logging, data parsing, DoD stakeholder interaction, and UCI and OMS standards.
Benefits
- Full-time employees receive pay within the listed range, bonus, benefits, and equity; temporary employees receive the applicable temporary benefits package after 60 days.
- The role typically requires travel of approximately 30–40% of the year to office locations, customer sites, and flight-integration events.
- Offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.
About Shield AI
Shield AI builds autonomous systems for military and national security customers, combining its Hivemind autonomy software with V-BAT and X-BAT unmanned aircraft and Aechelon simulation technologies. The privately held company sells hardware, software, and related services to U.S. and allied defense agencies. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Diego, it operates across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, and its technology is used in operational deployments.