Forward Deployed Engineer, Autonomy (open level)

Roboticsconnected; United States; On-site; USD 120,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Shield AI in the United States seeks an Applications Engineer (Senior level) to deploy Hivemind software at customer sites. The role is travel-intensive, often international, with multi-week engagements.

You will understand customer requirements, provide technical expertise during deployment, and ensure successful integration of AI and autonomy products. There are opportunities to grow into technical leadership over time.

Qualifications

• Senior level role with several years of relevant industry experience
• Travel-intensive role with frequent on-site deployments
• Hands-on mindset and initiative in dynamic, customer-driven environments

Responsibilities

• Deploy Shield AI's Hivemind software at real-world customer sites
• Understand customer requirements and provide technical expertise during deployment
• Collaborate with engineering teams and grow into technical leadership over time

Skills

Travel-heavy

Customer-facing

Technical contributor

Tools

C/C++

Job description

Shield AI is a venture-backed defense-tech company with the mission of protecting service members and civilians with intelligent systems. Its products include Hivemind autonomy software, V-BAT and X-BATaircraft, and Aechelon simulation and synthetic reality technologies. With offices and facilities across the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, Shield AI’s technology actively supports operations worldwide. For more information, visitwww.shield.ai. Follow Shield AI on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

Our Applications Engineers are highly technical, customer-facing problem solvers who play a critical role in deploying Shield AI’s Hivemind software in real-world environments. This role is travel-intensive, with frequent trips, often international, and sometimes lasting multiple weeks, to work directly alongside customers on-site.

This is primarily a Senior-level role, and we’re typically looking for candidates with several years of relevant industry experience. That said, we will consider exceptional mid-level engineers who demonstrate strong technical fundamentals, a hands-on mindset, and a track record of taking initiative in dynamic, customer-driven environments

In this role, you will work closely with customers to understand their requirements, provide technical expertise during deployment, and ensure successful integration of our AI and autonomy products. You’ll also collaborate internally with engineering teams, with opportunities to grow into technical leadership over time.

You Should Apply If:

• You’re excited about a travel-heavy role and enjoy being on-site with customers, including international and multi-week engagements
• You’re a strong technical contributor (or early in your career and eager to grow) who takes initiative and figures things out
• You enjoy problem solving, building relationships, and working at the intersection of engineering and real-world deployment
• You’re passionate about autonomy, robotics, or aerospace

You Should Not Apply If:

• You prefer minimal travel or want to work primarily from a single location
• You want to do 100% R&D and don’t enjoy customer interactions
• You’ve never programmed in C, C++, or Rust