Autonomy Architect – UAV Flight Systems Lead

Shield AI; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 233,760 - 350,640; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equal employment opportunity

Job summary

Shield AI in Boston seeks a senior engineering leader to own the technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy across V‑BAT and X‑BAT, guiding mission autonomy, payload integration, and flight‑autonomy interfaces.

You will mentor senior engineers, shape architecture across Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, and ACP teams, and drive open systems and C2 interoperability for reliable operations in diverse environments.

Qualifications

• BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent experience.
• 10+ years of relevant experience.
• Expert-level C++ and Linux systems development experience.
• Demonstrated experience defining technical strategy across multiple engineering teams or programs.
• Proven track record influencing architecture and solving highly complex systems integration challenges.
• Experience mentoring senior engineers and driving engineering excellence.
• Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

Responsibilities

• Define and drive the long-term technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy across V‑BAT, X‑BAT, and future platforms.
• Develop and field autonomy including mission autonomy, payload integration, flight-autonomy interfaces, and multi‑agent capabilities.
• Partner with the Aircraft team to align platform integration and mission readiness.
• Lead cross‑engineering collaboration across Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, ACP, Aircraft, and customer organizations.
• Serve as the organization’s technical expert for complex autonomy integration challenges.
• Lead architecture reviews, engineering standards, and interface definitions.

Skills

C++

Linux

Technical strategy

Engineering leadership

Education

BS/MS in engineering

Tools

GCC/Clang

Job description

Shield AI in Boston seeks a senior engineering leader to own the technical direction for Expeditionary autonomy across V‑BAT and X‑BAT, guiding mission autonomy, payload integration, and flight‑autonomy interfaces.

You will mentor senior engineers, shape architecture across Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, and ACP teams, and drive open systems and C2 interoperability for reliable operations in diverse environments.