Chief Engineer, Autonomy (R3568)

Rocket Lab; Abu Dhabi; On-site; USD 120,000 - 160,000; Full time

Job summary

Rocket Lab is seeking a Chief Engineer to lead advanced autonomy solutions for unmanned aircraft. You will tackle complex challenges, oversee a skilled team, and ensure successful integration of technology in defense applications. Ideal candidates will possess extensive experience in the defense industry, leading and delivering on advanced engineering initiatives.

Benefits

Comprehensive international benefits package

Qualifications

• 10+ years of industry experience in autonomy and/or UAS platforms.
• 7+ years of delivering software into production with high reliability.
• Customer-facing engineering leader supporting defense programs.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Chief Engineer on projects for unmanned aircraft autonomy.
• Lead a team advancing Hivemind Autonomy and DoD architectures.
• Define technical objectives and ensure quality deliverables.

Skills

Problem Solving

Communication

Leadership

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science

Electrical Engineering

Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Tools

Guidance, Control and Navigation (GNC)

Robotics stack

Job description

Founded in 2015, Shield AI is a venture-backed defense technology company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent, autonomous systems. Its products include Hivemind Enterprise—EdgeOS, Pilot, Commander, and Forge—as well as V-BAT and Sentient Vision Systems (wide-area motion imaging software). With offices in San Diego, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Abu Dhabi (UAE), Kyiv (Ukraine), and Melbourne (Australia), Shield AI’s technology actively supports U.S. and allied operations worldwide. For more information, visit www.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X and Instagram.

The Chief Engineer at Shield AI is responsible for solving complex technical challenges in deploying advanced autonomy solutions on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS).

As the chief authority on system architecture, design, development, risk mitigation, and product quality the Chief Engineer ensures the successful integration of Hivemind Autonomy across a range of aircraft, from small UAS to large autonomous collaborative platforms.

This role is part of the Hivemind Solutions organization and leads a team of team of engineers to deliver cutting-edge autonomous capabilities for business-to-business and defense contracts. The ideal candidate has defense industry experience as a Chief Engineer and a proven track record of leading technical teams to develop and deploy autonomous systems.

WHAT YOU'LL DO:

• Serve as the Chief Engineer on Shield AI projects focused on developing and deploying autonomy solutions for unmanned aircraft
• Lead a team responsible for advancing Hivemind Autonomy and shaping Department of Defense (DoD) autonomy architectures.
• Define and assign technical objectives, make key engineering decisions, and ensure the quality and completeness of all technical deliverables
• Provide technical leadership and oversight across both Internal Research and Development (IRAD) initiatives and DoD contracts.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering, and/or similar degree
• 10+ years of industry experience in autonomy and/or UAS platforms (e.g., defense tech, self-driving car, etc.)
• 7+ years of delivering software into production/certifiable environments with high-reliability
• Understanding of guidance, control and navigation (GNC) (e.g. controls, estimation, planning)
• Understanding of robotics stack (e.g., controls, estimation, perception, planning, etc.)
• Understanding of software development processes and how to effectively deploy software
• Experience defining technical scope and managing technical requirements, product architectures, ICDs and other system level design documentation
• Demonstrate problem solving skills by applying a scientific technical approach
• Customer-facing engineering leader supporting both defense and internally funded development programs
• Contribute to government contract proposal writing
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent leadership skills, driving a team of 6-20 engineers

Our international team members are employed through our Employer of Record (EOR) and receive a comprehensive international benefits package on top of base salary. For full details on compensation and benefits, please consult your talent acquisition partner.