Chief Engineer, Weapons

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

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