Lead Autonomy Engineer — UAV Platforms (V-BAT/X-BAT)

Shield AI; Washington (Washington County); On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Bonus

Benefits

Equity

Job summary

Shield AI is seeking a senior autonomy software engineer to lead technical delivery and field deployment of mission autonomy for V-BAT and X-BAT platforms. You will coordinate across Aircraft, Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, and GCS teams, guiding interface design, integration, and validation in expeditionary environments.

The role requires strong C++ and Linux skills, 7+ years in autonomous or embedded software, and experience influencing technical direction while supporting customer

Qualifications

• BS/MS in an engineering discipline or equivalent experience.
• 7+ years of relevant experience.
• Expert C++ and Linux development experience.
• Experience leading complex autonomy or embedded software integration efforts.
• Experience influencing technical direction across multiple engineering teams.
• Experience supporting operational test events or customer deployments.

Responsibilities

• Lead technical delivery of complex autonomy capabilities from architecture through field deployment.
• Drive integration of mission autonomy, payloads, flight-control interfaces, and multi-agent behaviors on V-BAT and X-BAT.
• Partner with Aircraft team to define integration approaches and resolve interface issues.
• Collaborate across Aircraft, Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, GCS, and ACP teams for systems integration.
• Influence architecture, interface design, and integration strategy across subsystems.
• Lead design reviews, contribute to ICDs, mentor engineers, raise engineering rigor.
• Drive release readiness and support flight tests, customer demos, and deployments.

Skills

C++ programming

Linux development

Technical leadership

Systems integration

Autonomy software

Education

BS/MS in Engineering or equivalent

Tools

Docker

CI/CD

ARM embedded systems

Job description

Shield AI is seeking a senior autonomy software engineer to lead technical delivery and field deployment of mission autonomy for V-BAT and X-BAT platforms. You will coordinate across Aircraft, Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, and GCS teams, guiding interface design, integration, and validation in expeditionary environments.

The role requires strong C++ and Linux skills, 7+ years in autonomous or embedded software, and experience influencing technical direction while supporting customer