Lead Autonomy Systems Engineer – Fleet & Flight Tests

f7d8749a-72d6-407c-bf98-292ea630c73a

San Diego (CA)

On-site

USD 195,000 - 293,000

Full time

14 days+

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Job summary

Shield AI is seeking an experienced Autonomous Pilot Integration Lead to drive technical delivery of autonomy capabilities across platform integration, fleet operations, and field deployment. You will own challenging software integration problems, mentor engineers, and coordinate with Autonomy Capabilities, Perception, and customer partners to deliver scalable autonomy for mission-ready systems.

You will lead design decisions, validation planning, and pre-deployment readiness, including live

Qualifications

BS/MS in a relevant engineering discipline or equivalent practical experience.
Typically requires 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.
Ability to obtain a SECRET clearance.

Responsibilities

Lead Technical Delivery – manage the technical execution of major autonomy capabilities, coordinate cross-functional work, mentor engineers.
Develop & Field Autonomy – integrate autonomy software onto launched effects platforms, incl. autopilot integration and fleet-scale deployment to disconnected environments.
Collaboration Across Teams & Partners – act as primary technical interface with multiple teams and customer partners; influence interfaces and cross-organize integration.
Design & Documentation – lead design reviews, contribute to architecture decisions and ICDs, improve engineering rigor.
Pre-deployment Preparation – drive readiness for capability releases and deployments, coordinate validation and hardware/software compatibility.
On-site Test & Mission Support – provide technical leadership during flight tests and demonstrations, troubleshoot under time pressure.
Hardware/Software Debugging – perform root-cause analysis across software, payloads, embedded systems, networking.
Mission Data & Debrief Support – analyze mission data, reproduce issues, coordinate corrective actions.
Continuous Improvement – build tools and processes to improve deployment velocity and reliability.
C2 Interoperability & Standards – implement C2 interfaces and open-system standards; coordinate with external partners.
Travel Requirement – ~10-20% travel to office locations, customer sites, and tests.