Shield AI

Senior Staff Software Engineer, Autonomous Pilot Integration - Expeditionary (R5193)

Shield AI$233K — $350K *
Aerospace & Defense
8 - 10 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent experience
  • 10+ years of relevant experience
  • Expert-level C++ and Linux systems development experience
  • Experience defining technical strategy across multiple engineering teams
  • Proven track record in influencing architecture and systems integration challenges
  • Experience mentoring senior engineers

Responsibilities

  • Define and drive the long-term technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy
  • Guide mission autonomy development and successful operational deployment
  • Establish technical strategy with the Aircraft team for integration and mission readiness
  • Influence architecture across various engineering and customer organizations
  • Serve as the technical expert for complex autonomy integration
  • Lead architecture reviews and organization-wide technical improvements
  • Mentor senior engineers and contribute to the development of technical leaders

Benefits

  • Bonus structure based on performance
  • Comprehensive employee benefits package
  • Equity options in the company
  • Travel opportunities for site visits and training events
  • Long-term opportunities for career development and technical leadership
Full Job Description
The Autonomous Pilot Integration team for expeditionary platforms builds autonomy solutions for V-BAT - an unmanned aircraft operating in expeditionary environments for ISR, target acquisition, communications, and multi-agent missions. The team also builds autonomy for X-BAT, a new platform under development by the aircraft team; for X-BAT, the team builds on top of the existing mission autonomy solution from the Strategic Systems (ACP) portfolio and works closely with the aircraft team on the flight-autonomy interface. We combine capabilities from the Autonomy Capabilities team (motion planning, tactics), the Perception team (e.g., ViDAR, ATR), and the HivemindSDK to develop the autonomy software that runs on these platforms, then integrate, validate, and field it on the real hardware - for U.S. and international defense customers. In this role, you'll own the technical direction for the Expeditionary portfolio, driving the evolution of autonomy architecture across V-BAT and X-BAT while ensuring scalable, mission-ready solutions that support current operators and future platforms. You'll define long-term technical strategy, solve the organization's most complex integration challenges, and influence the direction of autonomy software spanning mission behaviors, platform interfaces, payload integration, executive autonomy, and multi-agent operations. You'll partner closely with the Aircraft team, Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, Strategic Systems (ACP), engineering leadership, customer/program offices, and operational users to ensure Expeditionary autonomy continues to evolve while remaining reliable in operational environments. What You'll Do: Technical Strategy & Portfolio Leadership - Define and drive the long-term technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy across V-BAT, X-BAT, and future platforms. Develop & Field Autonomy - Guide development of mission autonomy, payload integration, flight-autonomy interfaces, executive autonomy, and multi-agent capabilities while ensuring successful operational deployment. Aircraft Team Partnership - Establish long-term technical strategy with the Aircraft team for platform integration, interface evolution, and mission readiness. Cross-Engineering Leadership - Influence architecture across the Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, Strategic Systems (ACP), Aircraft, and customer organizations. Subject Matter Expertise - Serve as the organization's technical expert for complex autonomy integration challenges spanning software, hardware, and operations. Design & Engineering Excellence- Lead architecture reviews, engineering standards, interface definitions, and organization-wide technical improvements. Mentorship & Organizational Growth - Mentor senior engineers, develop technical leaders, contribute to leveling frameworks, and partner on senior hiring. Mission Readiness & Operational Excellence - Guide customer releases, deployment strategy, and mission validation while supporting critical operational events. Continuous Improvement - Drive long-term improvements to engineering processes, integration workflows, testing infrastructure, and developer experience. C2 Interoperability & Open Systems - Define technical strategy for command-and-control interoperability and adoption of open-systems standards. Hiring & Developing Technical Talent - Define the technical hiring bar for senior engineering roles, partner with engineering managers on long-term staffing strategy, and help grow the organization's technical capabilities. Travel Requirement - Members of this team typically travel around 10-20% of the year to different office locations, customer sites, operator training events, flight tests, and integration exercises. Required Qualifications: 3BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent experience. 310+ years of relevant experience. 3Expert-level C++ and Linux systems development experience. 3Demonstrated experience defining technical strategy across multiple engineering teams or programs. 3Proven track record influencing architecture and solving highly complex systems integration challenges. 3Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving engineering excellence. 3Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance. Preferred Qualifications: 3Extensive experience with Group 3 UAS, VTOL platforms, or comparable autonomous systems. 3Experience defining flight-autonomy interfaces or custom autopilot integrations. 3Experience deploying autonomy to operational military systems. 3Experience with international defense customers. 3Experience with STANAG 4586, UCI, OMS, and open-systems architectures. 3Experience shaping engineering practices across an organization. $233,760 - $350,640 a year #LI-ED1 #LE Full-time regular employee offer package: Pay within range listed + Bonus + Benefits + Equity Temporary employee offer package: Pay within range listed above + temporary benefits package (applicable after 60 days of employment) Salary compensation is influenced by a wide array of factors including but not limited to skill set, level of experience, licenses and certifications, and specific work location. All offers are contingent on a cleared background and possible reference check. Military fellows and part-time employees are not eligible for benefits. Please speak to your talent acquisition representative for more information.

About Shield AI

Shield AI is a defense technology company that develops artificially intelligent systems for military applications. The company was founded in 2015 by Brandon Tseng, Ryan Tseng, and Andrew Reiter, and is headquartered in San Diego, California. Shield AI's products include autonomous drones and software that can be used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and other military operations. The company's mission is to reduce the number of military casualties by providing soldiers with better intelligence and situational awareness. Shield AI has received funding from a number of investors, including Andreessen Horowitz and Founders Fund.
Learn more about Shield AI
Size
200 employees
Industry
Founded
2015

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