Chief Engineer, Weapons

Shield; Greater London; On-site; GBP 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield is seeking a Chief Engineer to lead autonomy initiatives for unmanned weapon systems. You will oversee architecture, design, risk mitigation and quality across Shield AI projects, guiding a team to deliver cutting-edge autonomy capabilities for defense contracts.

Ideal candidates have extensive defense experience, strong leadership, and a proven track record in delivering certifiable software for complex robotic systems and government programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or higher in CS, EE, mechanical/aerospace or similar.
• 10+ years in autonomy or unmanned weapon systems.
• 7+ years delivering production-grade software in certifiable environments.
• Understanding of GNC (controls, estimation, planning).
• Understanding of the robotics stack (controls, estimation, perception, planning).
• Understanding of software development processes and deployment.
• Experience defining technical scope, architectures, ICDs, and system-level design docs.
• Demonstrated problem-solving with a scientific/technical approach.
• Customer-facing engineering leadership in defense programs.
• Ability to contribute to government contract proposals.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills, leading 6–20 engineers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the Chief Engineer on Shield AI projects focused on developing and deploying autonomy solutions for unmanned weapon systems.
• Lead a team responsible for advancing Hivemind Autonomy and shaping defense 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 IRAD initiatives and defense contracts.

Skills

Autonomy engineering

Team leadership

Defense industry experience

GNC understanding

Robotics stack

Systems architecture

Technical leadership

Proposal writing

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's or Master’s in CS/EE/ME/Aerospace

Tools

C/C++

ROS/Robotics stack

Certifiable software

Job description

The Chief Engineer at Shield AI is responsible for solving complex technical challenges in deploying advanced autonomy solutions on unmanned weapon systems.

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 unmanned weapon systems.

This role is part of the Hivemind Solutions organization and leads a 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 weapon systems.

What you'll do:

• Serve as the Chief Engineer on Shield AI projects focused on developing and deploying autonomy solutions for unmanned weapon systems.
• Lead a team responsible for advancing Hivemind Autonomy and shaping defense 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 defense 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 unmanned weapon systems (e.g., defense tech, self-driving cars, etc.)
• 7+ years of delivering software into production/certifiable environments with high reliability
• Understanding of guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) (e.g., controls, estimation, planning)
• Understanding of the 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
• Demonstrated problem-solving skills through the application of a scientific and technical approach
• Customer-facing engineering leadership supporting both defense and internally funded development programs
• Ability to contribute to government contract proposal writing
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Excellent leadership skills, with experience leading a team of 6-20 engineers

Preffered Qualificatons:

• UK security clearance