Chief Engineer, Defense Autonomy & Systems

Shield AI; London; On-site; NOK 1,682,000 - 2,243,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI seeks a Chief Engineer to drive the architecture and delivery of Hivemind Autonomy across unmanned weapon systems. You will lead a 6-20 engineer team and own system design, risk mitigation, and product quality for defense contracts.

The role requires 10+ years in autonomy or defense tech, strong software deployment experience, and proven leadership. You will guide IRAD efforts, contribute to government proposals, and communicate complex technical concepts to stakeholders.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering or similar degree.
• 10+ years of industry experience in autonomy and/or unmanned weapon systems (defense tech, etc.).
• 7+ years of delivering software into production/certifiable environments with high reliability.
• Understanding of guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) and robotics stack.
• Experience defining technical scope and managing technical requirements, product architectures, ICDs, and system-level design docs.
• Proven problem-solving skills with a scientific/technical approach.
• Customer-facing engineering leadership supporting defense and internally funded programs.
• Ability to contribute to government contract proposal writing.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; strong leadership of teams.
• Experience leading a team of 6-20 engineers.

Responsibilities

• Serve as Chief Engineer on Shield AI projects focused on autonomy solutions for unmanned weapon systems.
• Lead a team advancing Hivemind Autonomy and shaping defense architectures.
• Define and assign technical objectives, make key engineering decisions, and ensure deliverables are complete and high quality.
• Provide technical leadership across IRAD initiatives and defense contracts.

Skills

Autonomy systems leadership

Team leadership (6-20 engineers)

GNC understanding

Robotics stack understanding

Defense contractor experience

Software deployment to production

Technical scope definition

Proposal writing

Excellent communication

Problem solving

Education

BS/MS in Computer Science / Electrical Engineering / Mechanical/Aerospace Engineering

Job description

Shield AI seeks a Chief Engineer to drive the architecture and delivery of Hivemind Autonomy across unmanned weapon systems. You will lead a 6-20 engineer team and own system design, risk mitigation, and product quality for defense contracts.

The role requires 10+ years in autonomy or defense tech, strong software deployment experience, and proven leadership. You will guide IRAD efforts, contribute to government proposals, and communicate complex technical concepts to stakeholders.