Manager of Engineering Autonomous Pilot Integration

Shield AI is a U.S. defense-technology company developing AI-powered autonomy software and autonomous aircraft for military and allied operations.

San Diego, United States
About Shield AI

Shield AI builds Hivemind, an end-to-end AI-pilot and mission-autonomy software platform for resilient operations in GPS- and communications-denied environments, alongside aircraft and simulation products including V-BAT, X-BAT, and Aechelon.

View jobs by Shield AI

Skills

Candidate Availability

Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.

About the Role

You will manage and develop autonomy engineers while leading software integration for launched-effects platforms. You will set technical direction, integrate autopilots and embedded systems, prepare mission-ready deployments, support live tests, troubleshoot field issues, and maintain interoperability interfaces with partners.

Requirements

  • Bachelor's or master's degree in a technical field or equivalent practical experience
  • 7+ years of related experience with a bachelor's degree, 5+ years with a master's degree, or 4+ years with a PhD
  • 2+ years of direct people-management experience
  • Experience hiring, onboarding, and mentoring engineers
  • Experience leading a technical team or major capability through field delivery
  • Experience authoring or negotiating ICDs
  • Experience with launched effects, loitering munitions, expendable autonomous systems, or comparable platforms
  • Experience with multi-agent, swarm, or fleet-scale autonomy
  • C++ proficiency
  • Linux, embedded systems, shell scripting, and system diagnostics experience
  • Knowledge of robotics middleware, pub-sub, or IPC frameworks
  • Experience supporting live operational test events
  • Autonomy simulation experience
  • Ability to obtain a Secret clearance

Responsibilities

  • Manage engineering performance, growth, delivery, reviews, and team rituals
  • Hire, interview, and onboard engineers
  • Mentor engineers and provide technical feedback
  • Develop and integrate autonomy software for launched-effects platforms
  • Set technical direction and lead feature crews or sub-programs
  • Author and negotiate ICDs and interface contracts with partners
  • Own configuration and validation for fleet-scale deployments
  • Travel to test sites and customer exercises to support mission operations
  • Diagnose autonomy-stack, payload-computer, and embedded-system integration issues
  • Capture mission data, reproduce issues, and drive fixes
  • Build tools and processes that improve deployment reliability and efficiency
  • Own C2 interfaces and standards compliance

Benefits

  • Bonus
  • Equity
Manager of Engineering Autonomous Pilot Integration at Shield AI | JobStash