Senior Staff Software Engineer Autonomous Pilot Integration
Shield AI is a U.S. defense-technology company developing mission-autonomy software and autonomous aircraft for military and allied operations.
Funding history
Investors
About Shield AI
Founded in 2015, Shield AI builds Hivemind autonomy software and V-BAT and X-BAT aircraft for operations in contested, GPS- and communications-denied environments. Its current site also presents Aechelon synthetic-reality simulation and Vision Systems detection and tracking products.
Skills
Candidate Availability
Required and preferred rules are kept separate and reflect the wording in the original posting.
About the Role
You will develop and integrate autonomy software for unmanned platforms and lead technical direction across related programs. You will prepare mission-ready systems, diagnose full-stack integration issues, support live tests, define interoperability strategy, mentor senior engineers, and improve deployment and testing processes.
Requirements
- BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, or a similar discipline, or equivalent practical experience
- 10+ years of related experience with a bachelor's degree, 9 years with a master's degree, or 7 years with a PhD
- C++ proficiency and experience with real-time or latency-sensitive systems
- Linux development, embedded systems, shell scripting, and system diagnostics experience
- Familiarity with autonomy or robotics middleware, pub-sub, or IPC frameworks
- Experience supporting field or mission tests for unmanned or autonomous systems
- Experience with autonomy simulation environments
- Experience leading multiple teams or cross-program initiatives through fielded delivery
- Experience shaping architecture decisions, interface contracts, and standards across teams
- Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance
Responsibilities
- Develop and integrate autonomy software for unmanned platforms
- Set technical direction and common autonomy implementation patterns across programs
- Lead architecture decisions with engineering, customer, standards, and external platform stakeholders
- Mentor senior engineers and team leads
- Drive design reviews, architecture documents, post-mortems, and engineering rigor
- Own build, configuration, validation, and release preparation for mission-ready systems
- Support live mission operations, safety checks, system bring-up, and troubleshooting at test sites
- Diagnose integration issues across autonomy stacks, payload computers, and embedded systems
- Capture mission data, reproduce issues in simulation, and drive fixes into subsequent builds
- Build tools and processes that improve integration timelines, reliability, and efficiency
- Set command-and-control interoperability strategy and implement applicable standards
- Define senior-role hiring strategy and onboard senior engineers
Benefits
- Bonus
- Equity