3 months ago
Base Salary
$234k - $351k/yr
Responsibilities
- Develop and integrate autonomy software for unmanned air, maritime, space, ground, or effects/expendables platforms.
- Own technical direction across multiple programs, including autonomy reference implementations, common patterns, architecture, and technical strategy.
- Integrate payload computers, sensors, command-and-control interfaces, embedded systems, and containerized deployments.
- Build, configure, validate, and release mission-ready systems through software-, hardware-, vehicle-, and live-test environments.
- Support field tests and mission operations, including system bring-up, safety checks, troubleshooting, and mission-data debriefs.
- Diagnose and optimize memory, CPU, timing, and broader hardware/software integration issues in lab and field environments.
- Set C2 interoperability strategy and implement or maintain compliance with standards such as A-GRA, UCI, and OMS.
- Drive cross-functional design reviews, architecture documentation, post-mortems, process improvements, and engineering rigor.
- Mentor senior engineers and team leads, shape the technical career bar, and contribute to hiring strategy and assessment.
- Represent the team to engineering leadership, customer and program offices, standards bodies, and external platform integrators.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a similar field, or equivalent practical experience.
- At least 10 years of related experience with a bachelor’s degree, 9 years with a master’s degree, 7 years with a PhD, or equivalent work experience.
- Proficiency in C++ and experience developing or integrating real-time or latency-sensitive systems.
- Proficiency with Linux-based development, embedded systems, shell scripting, and system diagnostics.
- Familiarity with middleware, publish-subscribe, or IPC frameworks used in autonomy or robotics systems, such as DDS and message buses.
- Hands-on experience supporting demonstrations, exercises, or field and mission tests for unmanned or autonomous systems.
- Experience with autonomy simulation environments and validation workflows.
- Experience leading multiple teams or cross-program technical initiatives from concept through fielded delivery.
- Demonstrated technical leadership, subject-matter expertise, forward-looking strategy, architecture influence, and mentorship of senior engineers and team leads.
- Ability to troubleshoot and optimize system performance across the full stack in a multidisciplinary environment.
- Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.
- Preferred qualifications include Python, unmanned-system field testing, customer and DoD stakeholder engagement, autonomy stacks, motion planning, vehicle-control integration, vehicle electronics or payload-computer bring-up, hardware-in-the-loop debugging, container orchestration, PX4, ArduPilot, automation tools, Conan, CMake, CI/CD pipelines, A-GRA, UCI, OMS, AFSIM, and NGTS experience.
Benefits
- Full-time regular 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 involves 10–20% travel to offices, customer sites, integration events, and test locations.
- Offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check.
- Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits.
About Shield AI
Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide.